Hope
by TanuSherry
Summary: [Post RE6] Jake and Sherry are now happily married and are finally in control of their own lives, ready to live it together, doing exactly what they want to do - but when they discover there's a surprise on the way, thing's don't go exactly to plan.
1. Chapter 1

Sherry Birkin had always viewed herself as a quiet, and shy young woman who never required much. She worked hard her entire life and suffered through her own fair share of hardships, so she had learned very quickly to see the silver lining in what looked like bleak and hopeless situations. When ever she was having a bad day, she gently reminded herself that she had survived Raccoon, and that anything that was thrown at her from there on out would not be half as bad - which it never was.

Sherry was now in her late 20's, and was enjoying her life as a D.S.O field agent, and a newly wed - Just over a year ago to her husband Jake Muller.

Sherry could remember how Jake proposed almost crystal clear. He had taken her to Belvedere Castle in Central park one November night after a very expensive dinner. She hadn't noticed then, but he had paid a handsome amount of money to get him and her into the castle after hours. They were both leaning against a railing when Jake had nonchalantly pulled out a black velvet box and said "A princess needs to be asked something this important in a castle."

Jake had bought her a silver band ring with a diamond in the shape of a heart, with an inscription on the inside which read 'Supergirl', she never did get tired of that name. Jake had said he wanted their weddings rings to be gold, so it could match Sherry's locket.

Their wedding was a simple affair - When planning it, they realized that there wouldn't be too many people coming, Sherry invited Leon, Claire, Chris, Jill, Ingrid Hunnigan as well as a few agents from the office. Jake had been working at the D.S.O along side Sherry for the 3 months before they had gotten engaged, and had his own circle of friends which he invited - so in total, their were 30 or so guests.

After many discussions, they had decided to get married in Belvedere Castle and have the reception there as well. It had taken a lot of persuasion to get the entire castle for the full day, Hunnigan's word definitely helped out, that and the handsome sum of money Jake and Sherry had to pay, but to them, it was more than worth it.

They had thankfully gotten a gorgeous day, and so they were able to have the ceremony itself on a more open area of the castle. Everyone had a great time and honestly, Sherry had never been happier.

Both Sherry and Jake did not have many points in their lives where they were in control. Sherry was forced into government custody following Raccoon City, and Jake was forced to work from an early age in order to get the money for medicine for his mother, so it was an understatement to say that the two had a bad childhood.

But this wedding was more than the two becoming husband and wife, it was more than a simple party - it was the day they began a new chapter, and lived their lives together as they wanted, and would let no one force them to do anything they didn't want to do - they were finally, and completely in control.

Sherry sighed, it seemed like her wedding was just yesterday, being given away at the alter by Leon, seeing Jake blush upon seeing her in her white dress, slow dancing with Jake for the first time, _ever, _then Claire stepping in to slow dance with her as a joke, Chris and Jake seemingly getting along at the bar (But Sherry could never be sure) and the pictures, the 50 million pictures they all had to stand for, but she was glad she did - the pictures came out fantastic and she had even paid extra to have one of her and Jake cutting the cake be blown up to a massive size that now hung over her TV in her apartment.

But it was a year ago. The only reason she was probably reflecting on all this was because she had just had her 1 year anniversary about 3 days ago, Jake had taken her out to that very expensive restaurant he had taken her to before proposing. "Why don't we make this an annual thing? come here every year for our anniversary.' he had said, to which Sherry agreed, it seemed like the perfect tradition. Jake and her walked home after, hand in hand, close together chatting. Sherry and Jake had been contemplating buying a house just outside New York (but not too far from the D.S.O hopefully.) but they hadn't really done anything about it yet. Besides, nothing was wrong with Sherry's- well, now their apartment, they'd move out once they were ready to start that chapter in their new lives. When they arrived home they were more than a little tipsy, when they had hopped into bed, Sherry had leaned in to give Jake a peck on the cheek to say goodnight but kissed his neck instead - Jake had read the kiss to say more than goodnight and well, i'm sure you can guess what happened next.

Sherry shook her head, _Okay Birkin, your little trip down memory lane is done, time to face the music. _She had been hiding out in the bathroom of the D.S.O HQ for about 20 minutes, half because she had been feeling awful and she had so far thrown up three times this particular morning, though so far she hadn't thrown up in the D.S.O bathrooms, which she thanked her stomach for - and half because she had to chair a meeting for a few agents heading out to a field mission somewhere in Poland. She was always extremely nervous before chairing meetings, and it wasn't exactly new for her to be getting sick because of her nerves, so she assumed the stomach pains she'd been having for the past day on that.

Sherry walked out of the bathroom, slightly lightheaded, and continued on to the conference room. The meeting she was chairing had about 5 agents, a small number which Sherry was very grateful for - and among them, her husband, which put her mind at ease. Sherry had just begun to go over the groups and job's when she caught Jake making faces at her to try and get her to crack a smile and mess up as per usual. To her dismay, her stomach pain flared up as soon as she had started on going over everyone's jobs, but ignored it._ Its just from nerves, forget it already._

"Mr Muller, act your age." she remarked with a smirk, to which he pouted. Iin her own way she was trying to distract herself from the growing pain. All the agents knew they were married so most just laughed. "Anyway, as i was saying - You will all be landing in around this area here." Sherry circled a small town with a marker and felt an awful prick in her stomach, which caused her to involuntarily gasp and shut her eyes tight. She could feel all of the agents staring at her and her face was beginning to redden

"A-and you'll be given a ride from there from the BSAA w-whos.." Sherry felt another horrible prick in her stomach and this time she hunched over on her desk. _Okay, this isn't caused by stress, i need to.. _Sherry shook her head and forced herself to her feet, when she lifted her head she had noticed Jake was walking towards her, "Sherry, what's wrong?" Sherry shook her head once more and retreated to the door, trying to hide that she was now sweating, "I'm s-sorry everyone ill just be a minute." and with that she stumbled out into the hall, and walked off down the hall to the small medical center that had been set up.

Sherry had developed a phobia of hospitals after her entire life was spent in one, being poked and prodded by everyone and anyone, and being made a public display. Chris' wife Jill was nice enough to introduce Sherry to her friend Rebecca Chambers, a skilled medic that Sherry had come to trust with any medical issues she ever had, so she almost always went to Rebecca as opposed to any sort of hospital. Sherry shakily asked at the front desk of the medical bay if Rebecca was in today - she was usually on call at the B.S.A.A's headquarters, but sometimes came in to check up on any medical issues Jake or Sherry ever had, or occasionally just the odd check up - and it seemed luck was on Sherry's side as she was.

As Rebecca had just come in from the B.S.A.A HQ she didn't have any patients so she could see Sherry straight away. Rebecca seemed alarmed at Sherry's state - she had gone pale white, couldn't stop shaking and was covered in sweat.

Rebecca had taken a sample of her blood and urine to examine for anything out of the ordinary. Sherry's advanced healing abilities would of taken care of any stomach virus or flu by now, so she was worried.

Sherry was lying back on an examination table when Rebecca came in with a surprised look on her face, reviewing papers. Sherry lifted her head when she heard Rebecca walk in. "So, got any idea whats going on Miss Chambers?" Rebecca grabbed a chair and pulled it up beside Sherry, suddenly Sherry had the worst feeling in the world about what was going on.

"Sherry, you're pregnant."

Sherry felt the colour drain from her face, and suddenly she was shaking even more, "Wh.. pregnant? but i.. they told me-", "That you couldn't?" Rebecca interrupted. Sherry had it explained to her 100 times when she was 18 or so - the G-virus that was now apart of her, could only ever breed with another person who survived, and had the benefits of G, which Sherry knew there were none. Sherry wasn't ever sure if she was going to be sad about never being able to have children but here she was, being told she was pregnant.

"This is just a hunch, but since Jake is a survivor of the C-Virus - a more advanced state of the G-Virus, it seems he was compatible with you."

Sherry's mouth had gone completely dry, and she could hear the thump of her heart, _oh my god I'm.. _she could hardly bring herself to say it she was so shocked. _Oh god Jake, what do i tell Jake? What if Jake walks out on me, what if i have to raise this baby alone? what if.._ The room was suddenly spinning, growing darker and darker, fading into pitch black. She was still on the edge of the examination table so she made sure to fall to her side so she wouldn't hurt herself from the fall, and finally she went down with a thud. She heard Rebecca jump upon hearing the thud. Sherry's hearing had gone slightly muffled until Rebecca's call of her name was nothing more than an echo

Sherry's brain was going 100 miles a minute attempting to comprehend what she'd just heard - it hadn't actually sunk in, the impact of Rebecca's words, but she suspected it wouldn't be long until she did.

Until then though, she would enjoy her might-as-well-be blissful ignorance inside her pitch black thoughts.

_What the hell am i going to tell Jake.._

* * *

**Hey guys! i decided to start on this story since the concept's been running around my mind for ages, and i wanted to get this out before the idea was forgotten. I'm still working on my other fic of course, I've gotten about like 1,000 words or so done on the next chapter so yeah, that's not dead don't worry ;v; **

**Please Review if you think this little story is worth it and if you have the time, I'd really appreciate it!**

**have a nice day! ;v;**


	2. Chapter 2

When she came to, she saw Rebecca and Jake, Jake had his arms wrapped around Sherry while Rebecca was looking increasingly worried. Sherry's heart nearly stopped when she saw Jake, _Oh my god Rebecca probably told him, what do i do?_

Rebecca stood up to properly examine Sherry, and smiled upon seeing her gently peel her eyes open. "Hey Sherry, how are you feeling?" Sherry sighed and fought the tears in the back of her eyes as much as she could. "Horrible." she stated. Jake pulled her in a little closer and finally spoke up "What's going on Rebecca, whats wrong with her?" Sherry's face brightened up a little, _he doesn't know, perfect!_

"Stomach ache." Sherry had interrupted with. Rebecca eyed Sherry curiously but didn't say anything. "My healing abilities are just taking their sweet time resolving it, don't worry, I'm fine!" she cheerfully remarked, which earned her a smile from Jake, "Okay, thank god, i thought Sherry was going to pass out during the meeting."

Jake stood up, but continued holding Sherry's hand for a minute, "I have to go fill out paperwork for my next assignment, so I'll see you later Supergirl, call if thing's get any worse." Sherry smiled and nodded, and watched him carefully as he walked out

Rebecca cleared her throat and was busying herself with some paperwork, "I'll tell him when I'm ready Miss Chambers, right now isn't the time." Rebecca looked up from her clipboard and smiled, "Of course Sherry, its not my place to say when is the best time, but their are a few things i had wanted to discuss with the two of you once you've told him."

Sherry frowned, slightly worried, "Like what?" Rebecca hesitated for a minute, and then continued on, "Well Sherry, the G-Virus has significantly changed your body in a lot of ways, I'm not exactly sure how your body will react to this pregnancy."

Sherry was slightly confused, she was about to ask how so when Rebecca's phone chimed out a soft ringtone, she answered it urgently upon seeing the number - Sherry guessed it was the B.S.A.A, she often got called away to meet any injured soldiers that were on there way back from a mission, so Sherry was used it. "I'm sorry Sherry i-", "Don't worry about it miss Chambers" Sherry interrupted, smiling. Rebecca jumped up to grab a bag she'd brought in, "We need to meet again on monday, and with Jake, i need to go over your blood samples and see if i can conclude anything from it, is 7.00 AM before work okay?"

Sherry nodded, swallowing a lump that had formed in her throat, but decided to keep her smile up for her, "Of course that's fine, I'll see you then Miss Chambers." Sherry stood up and walked out, turning back to see Rebecca had already gone. When Sherry had gotten back to the meeting room she saw that everyone had left, _Well, they were hardly going to wait, good job Sherry. Since the meeting was her last piece of work, _which was clearly done with, she decided to call it a day, it was Tuesday so Sherry didn't have to worry about Jake, he usually went out Leon and a few other agents to the gym on Tuesdays, she just decided to head home.

* * *

"Hey Hun, you here?" Jake shouted down the hall, to which he got no reply. He had just returned from the gym, and Sherry was usually lounging in their small sitting room area watching TV or making dinner, but she was nowhere to be seen. Jake shrugged, dumped his bag full of work out clothes in their small wash room and walked to his room to take a shower when he heard Sherry inside throwing up.

Jake frowned and knocked softly on the door, "How you holdin' up Supergirl?" Jake heard a startled gasp from the inside, which Jake smirked out, Sherry scared too easily. "Oh hey Jake, you can come in." Jake walked in and saw Sherry standing, leaning against the sink with her head hung, "and i feel awful, by the way." Jake hugged her softly and kissed her on the forehead. "Come on, lets get you settled in bed. I'll bring you some tea if you want?"

Sherry smiled, but she didn't want to keep Jake in the dark, _Hey, maybe he'll be happy.. or maybe he''ll leave._ Sherry shook her head and tried to keep the bad thoughts out. Sherry allowed Jake to help her into bed, and sat upright waiting for Jake to get back with the tea

_Okay Sherry just.. say it when he comes back in, like ripping off a band-aid.. _Sherry involuntarily began shaking, out of the fear of Jake leaving her, it had always been a fear Sherry had always had with everyone, but it went double for Jake, the thought of losing Jake was an unbearable thought that had never been a fun subject to think of, so she never let herself think about it for too long, and honestly, she never had a reason to think about it extensively.

Sherry suddenly felt the urge to throw up again, she reached to pull off the duvet covering her when Jake walked in with a cup of tea in his hands, smiling at her, in a way that always made her heart melt. "Don't worry, it's just a stomach ache, it'll be gone soon." Jake was about to hand her the cup when he noticed a tear run down her cheek. "Whats wrong?" he set down the tea on the bedside table and cupped her face in his hands, and lifted her head to meet his gaze

"Jake there's.. there's something i need to tell you, and if you don't want to stick around after you hear it i understand." Jake was now picturing the worst case scenario, _Has she cheated or something?_ No, Sherry would never do that, not in a million years. "Just simply nodded and sat on the edge of the bed, staring at her with a worried look

Sherry exhaled softly, preparing herself for the worst which she was sure was about to come, "Jake I'm.. pregnant."

_There, you said it, now it's his turn._

Sherry instantly dropped her gaze to her hands, they were fidgeting uncomfortably with the duvet, biting her lip, waiting for his reply.

Jake's eyes had gone slightly wide, "You're.. what?" Sherry shook even more and was trying to choke back tears when she felt Jake hug her tightly. "Stop shaking Sherry, this is good." Jake held her close and gently rocked her. Sherry was so shocked by his words that she let a few tears fall, more from surprise than sadness. "I.. you're not going to leave me?" Sherry gasped out. Jake instantly pulled back and looked her in the face, "Leave you? I'm your husband, I'd never leave you." Jake smiled reassuringly, "and besides, I've always kind of wanted kids at some point in my life."

Sherry could hardly believe what she was hearing, _Jake's happy, He's happy about this! _Sherry's expression quickly turned from hopeless to ecstatic , and she hugged him tightly. Jake kissed her shoulder and exhaled, "You thought I'd leave you? I'm not my bastard father Sherry, I love you, and i promised that I'd live my life with you at our wedding and i mean't it. The wedding DVD is out in the sitting room if you want me to put it on to remind you." Sherry laughed and shook her head, letting a few more tears fall, "I was there, i remember exactly what you said.", Jake gently stroked her back, "Then you'll remember the part during our first dance, when i told you that you were mine forever."

Sherry wiped her tears on her long sleeved shirt and nodded, "I'll never forget it." Jake let her go and held her hand, stroking it gently, "So that's why you've been throwing up, but why have you been throwing up all day? i thought it was called morning sickness for a reason." Sherry shrugged, "I have no idea, Rebecca said my body might react differently to pregnancy than a normal persons because of the G-Virus, maybe that has something to do it." Jake nodded, "Maybe we should see Rebecca and ask her a few questions about this.", "Actually, were meeting her Monday - well, if you want to come." Jake gripped her hand and squeezed it tightly, "Sherry, I'm your husband and I'm excited about this, you should at least try and be excited too, so of course i want to come, i want to come and hear everything she has to say."

Sherry wanted to jump up and down with excitement, now that she could see Jake wasn't going to leave her, and the two were excited. Sherry hugged him tightly and whispered "I love you Jake, thank you." Jake kissed her neck gently and whispered back, "I love you more Supergirl, this is just another chapter right?" Sherry nodded, positively glowing with excitement "Sure is."

* * *

The week had passed fairly fast, Sherry and Jake had always had a routine and they kept it - there was no reason not to. Sherry nor Jake had told anyone about the pregnancy, they had decided to have everyone over for dinner and announce it then, and use it as an opportunity to invite Hunnigan over to let her know in a casual way. Sherry threw up nearly everyday at random times, and Jake was very worried about it, Sherry wouldn't eat out of the fear of throwing up, and Jake didn't want Sherry to starve herself. If Jake worried about Sherry before - it went double now. Over the week, both Sherry and Jake had about 100 questions each for Rebecca, and we're both hoping for answers.

"So Rebecca, before we ask questions, got anything for us?" Jake asked. Rebecca was sitting at her desk reading over a file with Jake and Sherry at the other side of it. "I do actually." Sherry was happy to hear that, she was worried Rebecca hadn't been able to conclude anything, but Rebecca's polite smile eventually turned to a frown as she read through the report.

"I had to ask a friend of mine who's high up at the B.S.A.A for some Umbrella files last week, I have a hunch about your situation that i wanted confirmed, it wasn't exactly confirmed but i got what i wanted, more or less." Sherry and Jake's lip's had both fallen into a frown, both worried for any bad news she may have to throw at them. "Nobody that was ever injected with it, survived the G-Virus, aside from Sherry, so trials were obviously never carried out with pregnancy - but several animals survived and had pregnancy trials, they all died before giving birth though."

Sherry's heart rate had doubled, and abruptly interrupted her, "Is there a chance i could die?" Jake was about to chime in with his own thoughts when Rebecca beat him to the punch. "The animal's died because the virus inside them shifted all focus onto the unborn babies. They died as their bodies had grown dependent on the virus and they all died from being completely drained of all energy, and I'm positive the virus will do the same with you in the coming months, but don't worry, I have a plan of action."

Jake nodded eagerly, "And?", Rebecca pursed her lips and shifted her gaze onto the report before looking up to meet their gazes, "They're experimental, but Sherry will need to take Booster shots, to help give her more energy, and they'll need to be taken everyday, when she'll need to start taking them is the big question though." Both Jake and Sherry were clearly confused, which Rebecca easily read from their expressions. "I suspect Sherry wont need them for around another 3 months, but that's an extremely rough estimate. Its down to Sherry really - and like i said, they are experimental, so theirs the side affect of exaggerated pregnancy behavior like strange appetite and mood swings." Rebecca now focused on Sherry, "Sherry, i suspect that how it starts is that you'll feel extremely sleepy all of a sudden, or it may be that when you wake up in the morning, you'll be too weak to get up, at this point, Jake will need to start giving you the shots, they're a simple injection that Jake will have to do for you, and i will refill the dosages every week when he or you come into work."

Jake and Sherry nodded, "I'll have the money for the booster shots taken out of my paycheck and transferred to your bank account every week." Rebecca nodded, "Thank you Sherry, 30$ per week should cover the booster and needles."

Jake was clearly waiting for the right time, and then inquired, "So, can we ask some questions now?" Rebecca nodded, "Of course.", Jake cleared his throat and readjusted himself in his chair before continuing, "Well, Sherry's not only been throwing up first thing in the morning, but nearly around the clock, is that normal? I mean Sherry throws up after a bite of any food, and is nearly afraid to eat, that can't be good for the baby." Rebecca nodded again, "Hmm.. the G-Virus must just be adjusting to the drastic change to her body, it may continue for the coming month or so and then it will probably stop, once the virus adjusts itself to the baby and redirects its attention. Jake sat back in his chair, "Alright." she murmured, slouching once again in his chair.

"Is there anything else you two would like to know?" Sherry shook her head, and Jake followed suit. "Oh and, Miss Chambers? we haven't starting telling people yet so.." Rebecca smiled, "Of course, what is said in this room is confidential."

Sherry and Jake shook Rebecca's hand, said their good byes, and walked out.

"Alright, well at least we know more." Jake said, breaking the silence that was over them - it wasn't an awkward or tense silence, they just hadn't talked and Jake had gotten the first word in. Sherry nodded, "Yeah, I'm just glad we have Rebecca around."

"So, how about we have that dinner for our announcement in a few days, maybe Friday?" Sherry smiled, "I'd love that." she replied. "I wonder what they'll say." Sherry bit her lip, "Well, Claire and Jill will be excited as all hell, and will probably leave dinner early to buy us baby stuff like clothes and shoes, Leon will be polite about it but i know he'll be excited, and so will Chris."

"Why don't we make Claire and Leon the god parents?" said Jake, Sherry grinned at the idea, "You know, i think that's perfect, i trust Claire and Leon with my life, so i think it'd only be fair to have make them the god parents."

Jake sighed, "Alright, well i need to get my brief on the mission in Poland at the front desk, we should be good to go then." Sherry looked up at him, "Wait.. you're still going?" Jake was slightly surprised, "Well.. yeah, we could use the money with a baby coming and i AM a field agent." Sherry nodded, feeling stupid she'd even suggested it. "Yeah, right, it'd be good to have the extra money."

Jake could see the worry written on her face, and pulled her into a hug, "Relax Supergirl, I'm built like a tank, remember?" Sherry forced a smile, "How could i forget?" Jake saw right through her fake smile though, she hated how he could do that. "Sherry, with a baby coming we need to look at getting a proper house, and with the extra money we could have a bigger budget for one, trust me - this mission is what i need to do."

Sherry nodded again, "I understand, it's what's best for us."

Jake kissed her on the head and they walked off down the hall, hand in hand

though Sherry had worried the entire ride home over what was to happen next.

She never usually worried about Jake when he was on field missions, she knew he could handle his own - so why was she worrying now?

_Maybe it's because you feel more vulnerable now than ever Sherry, and you can't handle him leaving right now, and maybe it's always going to be like this from here on out._

Maybe, she agreed.


	3. Chapter 3

Jake was sitting on the couch in their small - though Sherry preferred the term cosy - apartment, going over the brief on the mission in Poland, while Sherry sat next to him, flicking through channels, finally settling on some sort of chat show, though he could tell she was looking over his shoulder at the brief.

"You know, if you want to read it, all you have to do is say so." Sherry flinched, caught red handed. "Well, only if you're done with it i guess." Jake closed the folder and held it out to her, "I've _been_ done with it, just cute to see you being sly, or trying to anyway." Sherry sheepishly took the folder from him and flipped it open, scanning the pages.

Jake took his opportunity to reach passed her to grab the remote and turn on a comedy show he'd been watching, _So this is where you get all those sarcastic comebacks, do you take notes? _Sherry had once sarcastically remarked, the memory made Jake wrap his arm around sherry, holding her at her side and pulling her in slightly closer to him, she was honestly perfect for him.

"So, you'll be gone for 2 months, you have to go undercover as a guard in this B.O.W manufacturers factory, and you can't have your phone to contact anyone just in case the call might be traced." Sherry frowned as she read the details, Jake simply nodded in reply, keeping his eyes glued to the TV, "I can talk to Hunnigan through an ear piece, but that's about it, the mission could get hairy if i tried to contact anyone else." Sherry looked away from the folder and away from Jake, _2 whole months.._

Jake pulled her in closer and kissed her head reassuringly, "You know we need the money Sherry, do you know how expensive a kid is?" Sherry nodded, she understood this was what they needed to do, this was Jake's job, and the pay he would get at the end would put a good dent in the amount of stuff they'd need to buy soon, as well as that house, so Sherry was quickly trying to accept that Jake was going and nothing she could do was going to stop him. _You're not the vulnerable little 12 year old you once were Sherry, you can handle anything yourself just fine._

Sherry wrapped her arms around Jake's chest and gently kissed the side of his neck, "I'm gonna miss you so much though, the most we've been apart since China was the 3 months the D.S.O asked us to stay apart so it didn't look bad for them, and we weren't even so much as going out then." Jake nodded and gently stroked her hair, "I know Supergirl, but our lives are going to have a major change in 9 months, maybe its good that we get some distance and realize how useless we are now without each other."

Jake grinned, trying to cheer up Sherry and get rid of that frown, and to Jake's delight it worked - or well, seemed to. Sherry flashed him a smile and kissed him on the nose, "Cute." she answered.

Jake took the file that Sherry had let slip off her lap onto a couch pillow and put it on top of their book shelf, out of anyone's reach, just in case anyone happened to stumble upon it. "So we better start getting ready, the big dinners tonight." Sherry suddenly felt a prick of excitement, she was finally going to be able to announce her good news to all her friends, and it was going to happen in less than 7 hours, She would of jumped up and down screaming if not for the fact that she felt nearly ready to throw up at any minute at all hours now. Leon and Claire were pretty much Sherry's parents, and closest friends in the world, so she was most excited to tell them they were going to be God Parents, Sherry could almost hear Claire's excited scream and see Leon's wide grin, or so she sorely hoped for anyway.

"Jake, could you fill me a bath?" Sherry asked, leaking every bit of sweetness into her voice that she could muster. Jake rolled his eyes, "Why do i have to do it?" Sherry smiled, "I'm pregnant." Sherry liked that excuse, though she could tell Jake was quickly growing tired of it, so she tried again "that, and i have to get the food ready for the oven, and i know for a fact that you'll start eating it if i leave it to you."

Jake rolled his eyes and walked off down the hall, groaning loudly for a good 2 minutes for Sherry to listen to as he went into their bathroom. "Thanks!" Sherry yelled, and got up to take out the lasagna she had prepared that morning out of the fridge. She had planned to serve the lasagna with some home made chip's and a salad, so she decided to put the lasagna in the oven at a low temperature while she was getting ready, and began to wash and peel potatoes.

Sherry was a fast learner when it came to cooking, she had to quickly learn how to do things for herself once she was out of government custody, and she was pretty impressed with her progress in the ways of cooking, her guide being mainly the food channels on TV and an old cookery book Jill had once given her as a house warming gift of sorts. She found she liked at baking a lot more - mainly because both she and Jake had a sweet tooth, but didn't mind either.

Jake emerged from the bathroom a few minutes later, with the sound of running water left behind in the bathroom. Sherry look up at him, only to see his annoyed expression in her direction, Sherry simply smiled, she was well used to Jake's moods, and knew just how to take them, "Thank you sweetie." she said, Jake mimicked her sweet smile and retorted with "Mhm, just don't get used to me being your personal servant." Sherry rolled her eyes and scoffed, "I won't, you don't make a good servant anyways." Jake walked over to her and kissed her on the cheek, "Because I don't take orders, i give them, unless i'm being paid a handsome sum of money to take them that is."

Sherry laughed, Jake would truly never change. "So i have to pay you every time i want you to do something for me?" Jake smirked, "Nah, for you, free of charge. Besides, you couldn't offered me." he winked playfully at her and walked out of their kitchen, but stopped in his tracks when he felt Sherry grip his arm, "and where do you think you're going?" Sherry asked with a smirk of her own. Jake raised an eyebrow, "To uh, watch TV for a while?" Sherry shook her head and held out the knife and potato she'd been peeling, "I'm going for my bath, when i get out i want all these potatoes washed peeled and chopped."

Jake groaned once again, making this one even longer, louder and more dramatic if possible. "You're very lucky I'm not charging you for this, my prices for this type of shit are _beyond_ high." he took the knife and potato from her hands and shook his head, Sherry kissed him and smiled, "Lucky me." she replied, she knew all too well how to handle him at this point.

Sherry walked into the bathroom, hopped out of her clothes and into her nice warm bubble bath. She loved taking bath's more so than showers because they were more relaxing and gave her the time to really think, as oppose to her singing during short, often rushed showers. Sherry didn't often worry over Jake too much, she knew that Jake could more than handle himself in any type of situation - he had training and was an abnormally strong fighter, thanks to his special blood and the C-Virus, but it was the fact that this mission in Poland would be Jake's first mission without her during their 2 years of knowing each other. After China, Jake and Sherry had gone on 2 field mission's together, and both had gone well. The two were in sync with each other and balanced each other out.

_What if he get's hurt? What if he need's help and i can't do anything? not like i can go out there myself now. Maybe i could ask someone at the D.S.O to partner up with him. someone that i trust enough to look after Jake and to be an asset to him more than a liability, but keeping up with Jake is a skill in itself, so.._ Sherry bit her lip, she didn't have many options to consider. Sherry's current mindset was 'Either i go with him or he doesn't go' but she knew that Jake was going to go regardless of what she said. They really did need the money, and maybe the time apart would do them well. _But what about those booster shots? I can't use a needle on myself.. i need someone to do it for me, and every morning once i need it no less. _Sherry hoped that the booster shots wouldn't be needed until Jake's return, and it seemed likely since Rebecca's estimate had been 3 months, and by the time Jake's back they'll only be hitting just over 10 weeks.

Sherry shook her head, trying to shake out all the negativity, and replace it with something more positive. _The dinner tonight.. yeah.. So Chris and Jill are coming, Claire, Leon, Helena and Hunnigan, i hope everyone's okay with what i'm serving. _Sherry sighed, life was going to get a bit hectic and unpredictable in the coming months, but then again, life is never predictable, so Sherry just tried to make it all positive by saying it's all going to be a surprise. Her final thought before getting out of her pleasant and peaceful bath was of Jake coming home from his mission with the money they needed to get their new house, a crib, some clothes.. _wait, what kind of clothes? Dresses? or pants? pink or blue? a boy or a girl? _Sherry smiled, she now had something positive to blot out the negative thoughts - Names for the baby.

Sherry dried off and walked into the hall, and say Jake was sitting slouched at the kitchen table, slicing the potatoes and putting them in a bowl of water, "Thanks Jake, you can relax and watch TV if you want, i'll take over." Jake shook his head, "All i have to do is slice these and make up a salad, you go get ready, i can handle this." Sherry walked over to Jake and hugged him tight from behind, "Thank's Jake, and free of charge too? my my, it's my lucky day." she sarcastically remarked. Jake shook his head and let out a short laugh, "Yeah yeah, go get ready before i change my mind."

* * *

Sherry changed into a short red dress she had bought but hadn't worn yet, her birthday was in 3 months or so, and she saw the dress in a boutique down the street, and decided to buy it for the birthday dinner she was sure to have - but since she'd probably have a small baby bump by then, she saw no point in seeing the dress go to waste. Sherry had started cutting the hot lasagna fresh out of the oven when she heard soft knocking at her door - _Leon_ she guessed.

Jake opened to door to the man himself, Sherry smiled internally at her spot on guess. "Hey Jake, Sherry." Leon greeted, handing Jake a bottle of red wine - a personal favorite of Sherry's she noticed. Not like she'd be having any, she sadly thought. Claire shortly followed Leon's arrival, she had brought desert - an apple crumble which smelled amazing, Sherry put it in her still warm oven to keep it hot, but made sure to turn the temperature down low. Chris, Jill and Helena had all arrived together about 20 minutes after, They had apparently met at the door and walked up together, they seemed to get along well enough to Sherry's relief. Hunnigan showed up last, about 10 minutes after Chris, Jill and Helena. She apologized for her late reply, saying she had gotten held up at the D.S.O.

"So I'm like 4, and Chris is 10, and we're on vacation in Portugal." Claire began - they had been eating at the table sharing stories with each other, and Claire always hopped at the chance to poke fun at her brother in some way. "There was this really hot day where me and Chris didn't feel like leaving the hotel room we were staying in, so he decided to make a card house."

"Card _mansion_, that thing was too huge to be called a house." Chris interrupted. Claire laughed and nodded, "Right, well anyway he spends like what - 4 hours building this thing? i mean the thing was _huge _and delicate as all hell, and when he finished he was so happy he ran to grab his camera from our mom's purse, and our dad comes over to me and he says 'I'll bet you $10 that thing is going to fall over before Chris comes back.' and we shook on it, and i instantly ran over and kicked that thing down."

Chris was now trying his best to hold back his laughing, but it was no use. "God i spent hours on that thing, dad was twisted." Claire laughed and nodded, "Hey, i got $10, i recall using some of that to buy you an 'I'm sorry' ice cream.", "You crushed my dreams that day sis, an ice cream can't make up for lost dreams." Chris dramatically remarked, trying his best to keep a straight face, which just made everyone at the table burst out into laughter.

The story telling had gone straight through desert, Leon had started to uncork the wine when Sherry stood to clear the plates. "Sherry, do you want a glass? it's your favorite to just say yes." Leon asked, Sherry turned back to the table and said, "Actually Leon, I'm not drinking.", she attempted to hold back her wide smile but it was no use, she was excited to share her news. Leon raised an eyebrow and set the wine down, "Why not Sherry?" Sherry shook her head and giggled slightly, "I won't be drinking for the next 9 months, I'll have a drink then if that's okay."

Everyone at the table was now staring at Sherry with wide eyes, Leon's mouth hung open for a minute and then finally said "You're.. ?" Sherry nodded, "Nearly 2 weeks." she answered. Everyone instantly stood and nearly said 'congratulations ' in perfect sync, which made Sherry laugh. Everyone hugged her and wished her well, but Leon and Claire waited until last. Claire squealed with excitement, and hugged her tight, "Congrats Sherry!" she happily beamed Leon did the same, kissing her on the forehead, "You're going to make a great mom" Leon said, making Sherry blush furiously. "Oh and, me and Jake would like it if you and Claire would be the God Parents." Leon's mouth hung open in surprise, about to answer when Claire instantly captured her in a hug, so excited she could barely stand still, "Of course Sherry!" she nearly yelled. Leon nodded and smiled, telling Sherry all she needed to know.

Once Claire released her she could see everyone else was shaking Jake's hand wishing him well, "Congrats you two, Jake does this mean i should find a replacement for your spot on the mission in Poland?" Jake shook his head, "No, i'll still be going, we need the money." Hunnigan nodded, "Alright then, i can arrange to have you go later if you need the time." Sherry and Jake smiled, "Thank you Ingrid, we appreciate it." Sherry answered.

The evening had gone well, Sherry was wishing Helena good night, Chris, Jill and Leon had already left, which just left Claire and Jake sitting in their sitting room chatting. Jake had been waiting all evening to get either Claire or Leon alone, and he decided since Claire was going to be the last to leave, he'd ask her. "Claire, can i ask a favor?" Claire nodded, setting down the wine glass she'd been sipping from, "What's going on Jake?"

Jake sighed, and shifted his weight, "Because of Sherry's G-virus, she need's to take Boosters during pregnancy to keep her healthy, but being in government custody her whole life as a science experiment has given her a bit of a fear with using needles, so she cant do the shots herself. She needs them every morning or else theirs a chance she could die, and obviously i wont be around for 2 months, so.." Claire gently gripped Jake's hand, then squeezed it reassuringly. "Of course Jake, i can do that for the next 2 months." Jake nodded, "Thanks Claire, she doesn't need them just yet but she'll know herself when she needs to start taking them, so she'll let you know."

Claire nodded, "So, are you excited?", Jake looked over to Claire, he saw she was smiling up at him. _Am i excited? _"Uh, yeah." he answered after a long pause. Claire straightened in her seat and eyed him curiously, "'Uh, yeah.'?" she echoed. Jake shrugged, smiling to attempt to convince Claire of his little slip up, his slight hiccup that he hoped she wouldn't pester him about, but she caught it, and Claire wasn't the type to let thing's go so easily.

"Yeah, it's just weird, i need time to get used to it all you know?" Jake was telling the truth honestly, he was still slightly shocked by it all, but was putting up a brave front for Sherry, he secretly hoped he'd just wake up in a month or so and suddenly be excited about it all, but for now it was a little overwhelming for him. He didn't lie to Sherry - He could always picture himself with kid's at some point in his life, he didn't mind kids at all, but it was the fact they weren't trying and it was sprung on him so out of the blue that made him stumble and stutter over the subject.

Claire nodded, she could see that Jake was being sincere with her, "I understand, but this is a good thing Jake." Jake nodded, _That sounds familiar._ he thought. "I know, and thanks Claire, I'm glad i won't have to worry about her while I'm on that mission."

Jake could clearly see Claire's more giddy tipsy mood was gone, and replaced with a more wary and worried one. A moment later, they heard the apartment door shut and Sherry walk over to the couch, "Alright, so what are we talking about?" Sherry asked.

Claire shook her head with a smile, "Nothing of interest. So, got any baby names yet?"


	4. Chapter 4

**Warning! This Chapter is _RATED M__!_**

* * *

"How about Daniel, if its a boy?" Sherry asked

Jake shook his head, "_Way_ too common."

Jake and Sherry were sitting in a library not too far from Sherry's apartment, it had been 4 days since their announcement dinner, and ever since Claire had inquired about baby names, Sherry's mind was plagued with the thought. They were sitting at a table with a large stack of books, all with baby names, paired with meanings.

Jake was slouched in his chair, flicking through pages while Sherry was closely analyzing each name, they had a piece of paper in the middle of their table, one column reading "Boys names" and the other reading "Girls names"

"How about Isabelle if its a girl?" Jake asked, Sherry nodded, "I like it, write it down."

They didn't have many names on either column, it was quite hard to mutually agree on any names they found. Sherry grinned at her book, "Amelie, that sounds like such a royal name!"

Jake nodded, "Write it down then."

"Oh, Anthony, how about that?" Jake asked, "I like the sound of it, write it down."

This continued for quite sometime, Jake was the only one to shoot down any suggestions, Sherry agreed with all of Jake's. In all, the boys Column had 8 names and the girls had 10.

"So you pick the boys name, ill pick the girls?" Sherry asked, Jake nodded. "Sure."

Sherry and Jake both looked at the piece of paper and neither said anything for a minute. Sherry slowly pointed to the 3rd name on the girls list, "Natalie, i think that's my favorite." Jake smiled, "Natalie.. i like it." and then pointed to a name from his own column, "And i like Nathan the best, kind of goes with Natalie too, that's a plus."

Sherry's smile broadened, "This is so weird, isn't it?"

Jake eyed her curiously, "What is?"

"This, giving the baby a name.. makes it all real, doesn't it?" she smiled weakly, she was excited of course but she was still coming to terms with it

Jake smiled, and leaned in to kiss her gently on her cheek, "Yeah, but don't worry, not like Nathan's coming tomorrow, we have time."

Sherry looked up and him and smirked, "Nathan? who said it was a boy?"

He shrugged and let out a short laugh, "Hey, there's a 50/50 chance, sue me for wanting a boy."

Sherry laughed, she had to admit she leaned towards a girl herself, but obviously didn't mind either way. Before they left, Jake borrowed about 4 books; 3 novel's and 1 book on Poland's landscape and history. Sherry frowned, Jake would be leaving in a few days, and Sherry was dreading it. She wanted him to stay more than anything, but there was nothing she could do. She hated feeling this helpless.

They walked back towards Sherry's apartment hand in hand, but before they reached home, they stopped at a grocery. "Jake, i need to get a few thing's, will you grab a basket?" Jake nodded and picked one up. Sherry had to admit she loved grocery shopping with Jake, she hated doing it herself because it was quiet and she often forgot to buy some of the things she needed - having Jake there, she could double check everything with him.

"Jake, do we need milk?" she asked, Jake thought for a moment and picked up 2 cartons, "Yeah, i drank the last of it this morning." Sherry giggled, "Alright, what about orange juice?" Jake shook his head, "I brought home some yesterday, we need some fruit though." Sherry and Jake both walked over to the fruit isle and before Sherry could ask what they needed, Jake picked up a bunch of grapes, a bag of apples and some strawberries. Sherry nodded, "Alright, seem's like you've got this covered." Jake looked around himself a little, trying to jog his memory, "Is that everything?" he asked, Sherry thought for a minute, "What are we having for dinner later?"

Jake shrugged, "I don't think we left anything out." Sherry looked over to the butcher corner of the shop, "How about Spaghetti bolognese, i can get some fresh mince beef." Jake kissed her on the head and nodded approvingly, "Sounds fantastic." Sherry blushed and walked over to the counter.

Since Sherry could pay at the butchers counter, Jake decided to pay for everything else himself. "Hi Jake." the cashier happily beemed, Jake smirked, "Hey Emma.", Sherry and Jake were at their regular grocery, so the 2 knew practically everyone who worked there, and got along pretty well with them. Emma was an elderly woman who was very sweet to both Jake and Sherry, her hair was going slightly grey but she was very energetic for her age."I heard about the news, Congrats sweetheart." she said as she scanned Jake's groceries. "Thanks Emma."

"Do you know if its a boy or a girl, or is it too soon to tell?"

"Too soon to tell, but i'm hoping for a boy." he winked playfully, which Emma laughed at. Sherry came up behind Jake and put the mince into the bag Emma was packing for them, "Hi Emma, how are you?" Emma let out a short laugh, "Oh I'm doing fine Sherry, got over that nasty cold that had me all week thank god." Sherry nodded, "See? told you it was nothing to worry about!" she replied.

Jake picked up the grocery bag and the 2 waved at Emma, saying there good byes and continuing onto Sherry's apartment.

When Jake and Sherry arrived, Sherry started unpacking the bag while Jake put away what she took out. "So, i asked Claire to give you the booster shots while I'm gone, just in case you need them." Jake said, emptying the fruit into the fruit bowl. Sherry nodded, "Oh, good. I can call on her if i need them then." Jake noticed Sherry's tone had gone from a happy one to a more quiet one.

Jake turned to Sherry and hugged her tight, kissing her hand and gently rubbing her back. "Sweetheart, i-"

"Need to do this, i know." Sherry replied. Jake knew she wasn't happy about this, at all, but this was Jake's job, he needed to get them the money to start their lives, weither Sherry agreed to it or not. Jake hadn't had the best childhood - he lived in a run down house with often little food, and spent most of his childhood worrying over his mother and despising his low life father, and turned to doing anything for money. Money would of solved all of their problems, but they never had any.

Jake wasn't about to let his son or daughter be born into a small apartment with little to no money, he wanted his child to have a happy childhood, full of fond memories - and as sad as it was, he needed money to make that happen. He wanted to give Sherry everything, the family, the house, the nice car, and the security, and he was going to do just that, no matter what.

Jake gently loosened his grip and let Sherry go, "Its okay Sherry, I'll be back before you know it." and turned his heel to finish putting away everything.

"Jake, are you really happy about this?" Sherry nervously asked

Jake glanced over his shoulder, "About what?" Sherry bowed her head slightly, "About this, the pregnancy."

He was caught a little off guard, had he not put up an enthusiastic front about all this? after a long pause - longer than it should of been, Jake finally replied, "Yes Sherry, you know i am."

Sherry looked away, "Hmm, that pause was very convincing."

Jake walked up to her, and tipped her chin up to look at him with his finger and thumb, "Sherry, I'm not going to lie - this is all a little scary, but i _am_ happy about this, i honestly need time to adjust to the situation, that's all." Sherry blushed, she was expecting a frustrated grunt and for him to brush her off completely, "I.. okay.. okay Jake." and with that he gently kissed her on the lips. "I love you Sherry, and I'll love our baby soon, but i need time."

Sherry nodded, she was afraid what the time to think could do to him though. _What if he decides this is all too much and leaves? theirs every possibility.._

Jake saw her uncertainty, "I'm not my asshole deadbeat father Sherry, I'll never leave you, not over this." Sherry jumped slightly, it was almost as if he'd read her mind. "I married you because you're the only one, I'm not about to throw you away because of this, just give me time, that's all i ask."

Sherry's smile was now more confident, and she nodded "Alright Jake, of course." and she leaned up to kiss him, and he gladly returned it.

Soon after they arrived home, Sherry had thrown up about 3 times, and said she felt very light headed and went for a nap.

Jake sleeping beside her kept her nightmares away completely for just over the year they'd been together, but paired with the stress and worry Sherry was having over the baby as well as her being alone in their bed, Sherry had a nightmare. It was a familiar one; Raccoon City of course. People dying around her. The shrieks of zombies filling her ears, the smell of blood and rot heavy in the air, no Leon or Claire in sight - but then she saw her mom and dad in the distance, that was new, and then thought to herself that this couldn't be a nightmare "Mom, dad!" she yelled, running towards them. They turned to her with a sickly smile on their lips, and instantly grabbed her.

They suddenly turned to monsters before her eyes, and before Sherry could react, she felt a stabbing pain in her stomach, she looked down to see her father had buried his long sickly claws into her stomach, and growled "Pregnant by Wesker's son? that traitor! Disgraceful! Horrible! Disrespectful! You disappointing excuse for a daughter, you should of died that night with us - it would of been better for you!" and just then, she turned to see her mother preparing to slash her open with her claws. "We can right that wrong now William." she whispered. Sherry screamed out for Jake but it was too late. The claws dug into her deep, and tore her apart, all she could see was red, red red red, then a pitch black.

She woke up with a jolt, she was sweating and scared. _What the... disappointed? but.. why? Jake's not Wesker.. he's.. he's not.. _Sherry choked back tears, and gripped the bed sheet's in order to stop her shaking. _It was just a dream, a dreamed brewed up from your stress, they don't call it a nightmare for nothing Sherry, relax _

Just then, Sherry heard her bedroom door creak open, she instantly looked up and smiled, a blatantly fake smile, but it was for Jake's benefit, not hers. "Hey supergirl, sleep alright?" he asked sweetly, Sherry nodded hesitantly, "Mhm." Jake sat at the edge of the bed, "You awake enough? I've got a little something planned."

Sherry was now curious, "A little something?" she echoed, Jake nodded and held her hand, "Come on." and led her out into the sitting room. Sherry rubbed her eyes and yawned, she was still trying to wake herself up completely, but she was getting there. She looked at the coffee table in their sitting room and saw cut up apple, oranges, grapes, and some sort of juice. Sherry was very confused, "Uh.. ?" she threw Jake a very confused look, which Jake just laughed at, "Kids eat this stuff don't they? It's what my mom gave me anyway, apple juice and fruit. I thought it'd be funny to sit and watch cartoon's, see what were in for."

Sherry burst out laughing, "Oh my god, that's brilliant!" Jake laughed with her, "I knew you'd love it" and they sat together, picking at the fruit Jake had prepared.

Jake turned on the kid's channel, and when he saw a show called Jake and the Neverland Pirates, he laughed and turned it on, "Fantastic, a show with me in it." Jake joked, Sherry nearly choked on her apple juice when she saw the title. Sherry expected the show to be extremely boring and babyish, but Jake made it bearable with sarcastic commentary. The show occasionally asked the kid's at home for help, Jake took this opportunity to be especially sarcastic, Sherry hadn't laughed this hard in so long. They had about 3 episodes watched of the show when Jake said "So is Jake a pirate?" which nearly made sherry spill her drink from how hard she was laughing, she was tearing up from how funny Jake was being.

Jake looked through the tv guide for the kids programs and frowned, "Where is it?" Jake said. Sherry looked over to him, "Where's what?" Jake shook his head, "Don't tell me they don't show Blues Clues anymore, that shit was my life when i was a kid." Sherry laughed, "Hey, i remember that!" Jake smiled, "Oh yeah? you liked Blues Clues yourself?" Sherry nodded, "Of course, me and my dad used to get up early on Saturdays to watch it - or well, i used to get into bed with him and we would watch it in his room, though he always fell asleep half way through." Sherry laughed at the warm memory, her parent's may not have always been around, but they did try.

Jake smirked, "Cute, i use to watch it with my mom too, she preferred Disney though." Sherry smiled, "You know, Winnie the Pooh was my favorite show when i was little, as well as my favorite movie." Jake laughed and nodded, "Of course, i could definitely picture you watching that. My mom loved Lady and the Tramp, it was a bit mushy for me but i'd always watch it with her." Sherry gasped. "I love that movie!" She instantly got off the couch and sat down in front of her DVD collection, and after a few minutes of staring at the sides of DVD's spines she pulled out Lady and the Tramp.

Jake laughed, seeing the case's art brought back a lot of fond memories of sitting with his mother watching the movie. _You know Jake, someday we'll get 2 dog's like that, you've always wanted a dog right? when i'm feeling better, we'll get 2 puppies like that, i promise, just as long as you promise to walk them with me! _Jake could almost hear his mother saying those word's, little did they know his mother would never recover, and pass away just a year later. Jake was snapped out of the memory when he heard Sherry giggle, "Oh my gosh i haven't watched this in years!" she instantly loaded it up, and while she was setting it up, Jake pulled the blanket off the bed in their room and the cuddled closely together watching the movie, reminiscingabout their favorite parts and the memories they held.

"My mom always made this joke, saying i was the tramp." Jake stated, trying to hold back his laughing, "Aw, that's mean." Sherry replied smiling. "Nah, she was right, our neighborhood was a dump, everyone in it was the Tramp." he joked, "My mom and dad always said i was the Lady, they even bought me a huge Lady plush from a Disney store they visited when they were on a business trip for Umbrella, the thing was bigger than me." Jake laughed, "That's not saying much, i'm sure you were tiny back then." Sherry slapped his arm, "I wasn't _that_ small!" Jake laughed, "As opposed to now, i mean." Sherry rolled her eyes, "Whatever." she choked out between giggles.

"Our parents planned this." Jake half joked, Sherry looked up, "Planned what?" she knew in a way what he meant, but she wanted to hear it. "I'm the Tramp, you're the Lady." he replied, smirking. Sherry blushed, "Cute, i suppose we are."

The famous spaghetti scene where the dogs kissed came up, and Sherry snuggled all the closer to Jake, whispering a soft "Aaww, my favorite scene." Jake smiled and rolled his eyes, "Said every single girl who's ever seen this movie ever - my mother included." Sherry looked up at him with a smile, "It was your mothers too?" she asked softly, Jake nodded "Yeah, this at the scene where its Christmas and they have the puppies." Sherry gasped, "I love that scene too!" Jake shook his head, "You and my mom are so alike." Sherry lowered her eyes and blushed, "Hmm." she hummed, pressing her face into the side of his neck, but not too much so she could still see the movie.

Jake held her close and gently rocked her, "You're my Lady." he gently whispered, Making Sherry blush all the more and gently kissed his neck, which made him shiver slightly.

"Wanna know something weird." Sherry asked, she felt Jake gently nod his head, "When i was little, my parent's would joke around, asking who i'd marry, and i always said somebody who was like the Tramp. Dad's favorite kids movie was Hercules, and he used to say that i could marry a Tramp, just as long as he had the strength of Hercules to protect me." she snuggled up all the more closer to him. Jake held her tight, and gently whispered, "So, you think your dad would approve of me then?"

Sherry's mind quickly flashed to her nightmare, the harsh word's he had said to her, and how disappointed both him and her mother had been. Sherry brushed the nightmare aside, and with all her confidence she said

"He would of loved you Jake, mom too."

Jake exhaled softly, and captured her lips. Sherry blushes deeply and returned his kiss - she'd never get tired of his spicy exotic taste, and Jake would never get tired of her sweet Vanilla taste. Jake licked her bottom lip and Sherry softly gasped, giving Jake the opportunity to deepen their kiss. Jake's hands rubbed her sides softly, and he stopped at her hips, gripping them in the forceful way that Sherry loved. Sherry's hands shot up his shirt, and gently pulled it off. Sherry had to bite her lip to stop herself from whimpering at the sight of his bare chest, every part of Jake was perfect.

Jake smirked and pinned her on the couch, licking her neck, which she couldn't help but softly moan at. "J-Jake, bedroom.." Jake silently obeyed her and lifted her up, carrying her to their bedroom, ignoring the fact that the movie was still running, they hadn't locked the door and all the lights in the apartment were on, but neither cared.

Jake gently lied her on their bed and pinned her down once again, she loved when Jake took control, and Jake loved how she let him. "God, you're perfect." Jake gasped out between kissing her neck, and unbuttoning her jeans. Sherry attempted to reply but all she could do was whimper under his touch. Sherry tugged on his pants and attempted to pull them down but Jake had her pinned, so Jake did it for her. He lied down on her, licking her lips. Sherry gasped out when she felt something hard against her thigh, Jake simply grinned at her reaction. "Ready?" he asked

Sherry nodded eagerly, "Yeah Jake," she gasped out, "don't make me beg." Jake smirked, "Now theirs an idea." Sherry looked up at him and tried to slow her breathing, "What?" Jake claimed her lips in one swift motion to attempt to calm her breathing himself, and whispered "Beg for it." Sherry blushed, "Asshole." she whimpered. Jake grinded against Sherry, causing her to moan into his mouth, "Nnnn J-Jake.. please Jake.. i need you, please.." she begged.

Jake smirked approvingly. "All you had to do was ask." and slowly slipped her panties off. Sherry shuddered with anticipation, and had to bite her lip to stop her moaning, but as soon as she felt a familiar rush of pain between her legs, she couldn't control herself. The pain eventually subsided after a few minutes, but it was a pain she'd grown accustom to, and learned to love

Sherry gripped the pillow under her head and moaned even louder with every thrust. Jake leaned down and licked her lips, which just made her moan all the louder, "J-Jake yes.." she gasped out. "You feel fucking amazing Supergirl." he groaned, pounding into her harder and harder. Sherry slipped her hands onto his hips, and squeezed when his thrusts threatened to put her over the edge, but moment's later, she arched her back and moaned. Jake followed closely, with one final thrust. "Shit, that was incredible." he gasped out

Sherry was gasping for breathe too, but couldn't help but giggle. "So.. no different than usual?" Jake shook his head and kissed her forehead gently, "Of course." Jake then got off from on top of her and lied on his side, pulling Sherry close to her and cuddling her gently. Sherry smiled and rubbed her nose against his gently. "Love you." she whispered in his ear. "Love you way more." he replied, kissing her one last time before holding her tightly against his chest, stroking her hair until he knew she was was asleep.

Unlike Sherry's unpleasant nap earlier, her night had no nightmares, only a dream of the family she was soon to have. She was already more than half asleep, but gently kissed Jake's bare chest. _Thank's Jake. _was the last thought on her mind before she fell asleep completely in her husbands arms.

* * *

***curls into a ball* omgggg my first Lemon, i can't! Sorry if its terrible - scratch that, it IS terrible LOL**

**Weeh i have to admit, i never wanted to write lemon but here i am, ahhh hopefully i get better at it idk xD; omg im so lame**

**Anyways, the next chapter should have more.. lets say interesting plot developments, they mainly concern Jake though, you'll see!**

**Thanks for reading, R&R if you have the time!**


	5. Chapter 5

It was the morning Jake was to go out for his mission.

He didn't have to be up for another hour and yet he lied there, wide awake. He was holding Sherry, gently stroking her cheek as she slept, trying to do it as softly as possible so he didn't wake her up.

As the week neared closer and closer to Jake's departure for his mission, Sherry grew visibly more upset. She didn't cry or beg him to stay with her, but he could see she was more clingy with him. They had spent the previous 2 days nearly all in bed, cuddling and holding each other. Occasionally, Jake would see the odd frown on her face or even a tear, but he'd simple kiss her head and whisper, "Its okay Sherry. Its okay." and she'd be alright again. On the outside anyway.

Jake slowly got out of bed, walked to Sherry's side of the bed and kissed her forehead, lingering for a minute to smell her sweet vanilla scent he loved so much and gently whispered "I love you Sherry, I love you so much, I'm.. i'm so sorry.." and then backed away to the door, trying to hold back the urge to call Hunnigan and tell her he couldn't go. but he had to. He stood at the door for a minute, staring at her as she peacefully slept, facing Jake's side of the bed.

Jake didn't have the heart to wake her up and break her heart all over again by making her see him go. The previous night when she got out of bed to take a shower, Jake wrote her a letter, telling her everything she needed to know, and slipped it underneath her pillow.

Jake grabbed the bag he had packed the night before with the bare essentials and headed out the door, trying to shake off a now thumping headache. _I'm sorry Sherry, fuck I'm sorry._ He repeated to himself over and over and over, knowing it wouldn't do any good.

* * *

Jake had gone to the BSAA's HQ in New York, they had offered to take the few DSO agent's to Poland. Jake and about 5 other agent's were going, including Leon. Upon arriving to the base, he met Chris Redfield.

"Hey Jake, you're here early." Chris said with a grin. Jake nodded, "Yeah, i need the time to go over the brief, every time i read it at home, Sherry would ask to see it." Chris chuckled, "She's just worried, Jill used to do that too when she was pregnant,"

Jake bit his lip then looked up to him, "Chris, whats it like?" Chris raised an eyebrow, "You mean the pregnancy, the going out on the missions without her or having the kid?"

"All of it, what's it all like?"

"Stressful." Chris replied with a laugh, "But its worth it, its all worth it. You'll find that you'll start to hate going out on the field mission's once they're born though, all you'll want to do is stay at home." Jake nodded, still not convinced. Chris continued, "It's the 3 am bottle feeding and the diaper changes around the clock, as well as the constant cartoons and crying that suck." Jake winced at the thought

"Sure as hell doesn't sound worth it Redfield." Jake stated, shoving his hands into his pockets. "Trust me Jake, the first time your kid looks at you, the first time you hold him or her, the first time they grab your finger, you'll love that kid more than anything in the world, and doing all that bottle feeding and diaper changing shit suddenly becomes all worth it." Chris could see Jake wasn't at all convinced, but Chris knew himself that Jake wouldn't be until he was standing in the delivery room and seeing his baby for the first time, so he decided he'd stop with his sentimental speech. "And hey, Their boobs get way bigger during pregnancy, always a plus." he smiled, attempting to lighten the mood.

Jake let out a short laugh. "Always a plus." he echoed.

Chris allowed Jake into his own office to read his brief. As the BSAA HQ was always in an uproar the morning of a mission departure, and Chris' office was the only place that would be somewhat quiet. Jake thanked him and walked in.

Before sitting at his desk, Jake slyly poked around, it was a habit he never could shake. He preferred to know the area in and out before he felt secure in it. Chris' office was a good size, on the right side of the room was a huge window that gave a good view of the landing strip in the distance, and the left side was a wall with 3 book cases, full of case files and books alike. His back wall had a large notice board with a small whiteboard on the right with some notes here and there that Jake didn't read. The notice board had a few notes, files and photos on it. Satisfied, Jake sat at his desk and plopped the mission brief on the desk.

Jake noticed 3 framed photo's on his desk; the first was of him, Jill and their son Piers - Named after Piers Nivans, one of the men Chris had sadly lost in China - they seemed to be in a park of some sort. The second was of him, Jill and Claire on his and Jill's wedding day, and the final was a picture of Jake, Leon, Chris and 2 other BSAA soldiers in a bar. Jake remembered that night fondly, they had all gone out to celebrate after a mission had gone well a few months ago.

Jake sat back in his chair, distracting himself with his brief. _I already have the picture of the friends and the wedding, next will be the kid.. _Jake swallowed a lump in his throat. _No, you already decided, stop being a fucking idiot._

Jake noticed it was 6:40 AM, so he got up out of his chair and walked towards the door. They were leaving in 10 minutes, that's when they'd have their phones taken and held back at the DSO's HQ, so Jake decided to send Sherry 1 final text.

To: Supergirl

_Hey Supergirl, hope you slept okay. (and that i didn't wake you) Be good while i'm gone. I'm handing my phone to Hunnigan now so i wont be able to reply, but take a look under your pillow when you wake up. I love you._

Jake turned his phone and walked into the briefing room, and handed it to an agent standing beside Hunnigan who was collecting them.

"Alright agents, You're hopping on the BSAA's copter and should arrive in about 8 hours or so. For anyone who's avoided looking at the brief thus far, and i hope you haven't, you will have the time to once you get on. Anyone who hasn't handed up their phones, laptops, or another other electrical devices that may be traced aside from the ear pieces we issued you, please hand them to agent Wilson. You will be briefed further on the drop once you're aboard."

Most of the agents were listening attentively, sitting properly - Jake however, was sitting slouched as always, arms folded, half listening, half thinking. Hunnigan had known Jake for nearly 2 years, so she knew to correct Jake and ask him to sit up would be wasted breath.

An agent walked over to Hunnigan and cut her off to whisper something in her ear, Hunnigan let out an annoyed sigh. "My apologies agent's, the Copter will not be ready for another 40 minutes or so, but the BSAA has allowed us the use of their cafeteria down the hall if you so wish." and with that, the agent's all stood and started making their way to the cafeteria.

Jake now wanted his phone back to see if Sherry had texted, but decided against asking for it. He stood and walked towards the cafeteria. "Jake." Leon called from behind him, Jake glanced back to see Leon making his way towards him, he'd been talking to Hunnigan just outside the room they'd been in.

"Hey hero, all set for this?" Jake asked, Leon smiled and nodded, "Yeah, I'm well used to all this by now, hows Sherry doing?" Jake nodded back to him, "She's good, excited as hell."

Leon chuckled, "Yeah, i guessed as much. Sherry's always loved kids." Jake raised an eyebrow, "Oh?" he asked. Jake never thought much of it, Sherry had babysat Piers here and there for Jill and Chris when Claire wasn't available, but Jake figured Sherry was just being polite all those times.

"She had a babysitting job when she was 18 or so, it was a weekly thing, she'd babysit this woman's kids, 3 boys and a girl. She always said they were hard work but she loved it. She bought them toys all the time as well as movies and candy, she spoiled them like crazy. God bless the poor girl who took her position when Sherry had to leave." Leon shook his head and laughed, "Sherry said they only ever wanted to watch super hero stuff, she said she'd chew her arm off if she had to watch the animated Batman series again."

They walked into the cafeteria and got in line for some food, Jake ordered a sandwich while Leon ordered a cup of coffee. "I never knew she had a babysitting job." Jake said, slightly surprised. She'd never told him she even wanted kids, let alone liked them so much, maybe it just seemed insignificant to her? who knows.

"Maybe it just never came up?" Leon asked, Jake shrugged, "Yeah. Maybe."

They both got their orders and sat at a table together, Leon sipped at his black coffee while Jake only took the odd bite of his sandwich. "Do you want to call Sherry? I just got off the phone with Claire, I'm sure you'd like to talk to Sherry one last time before we leave."

Jake thought about it for a minute, then shook his head. "I want her to sleep, its too early for me to wake her." Leon was a little surprised, but nodded. "Whatever you want."

They talked for a little while longer, and after a while a bell chimed over the intercom, signalling all agent's to get to the landing strip outside where their copter was waiting for them. For the most part, Leon and Jake walked out quietly. Leon saw Jake's fists had clenched and he was wearing his trade mark frown, but Leon could see something was up.

They hopped aboard the Copter and were briefed by an Agent Crowley, who ever he was. "You will land near Suwalki, and will be driven to the BOW manufacturing warehouse. You are under the cover of workers employed by Piotr Sambor, who is the second in command for the operation, we have no idea who the man behind the scenes is. It's your job to dig up as much information as possible, and are expected to report your status' every 2nd night to the DSO." Everyone mumbled an agreement while Jake simply nodded.

All the agent's briefs had fake identities as well as back stories for them. Jake was assuming the identity of a man named Ivan Pietro. He skimmed through the specifics. Ivan was from Estonia or something, he was pretty sure it didn't matter. Jake had to hand up his wallet and had all of his card's taken which were to be brought back to the states and held with his phone. Instead, they were all switched with authentic looking counter parts with Ivan Pietro on them. He nearly punched Agent Crowley when he held Jake's wallet for too long, he didn't like anyone having anything that belonged to him.

Eventually, he handed it back to him, open to the part of his wallet showing a picture of him and Sherry making stupid face's in a bar. "She's cute, a girlfriend?" he ventured, Jake took his wallet back and stuffed it in his pocket. "Wife actually." Jake replied, folding his arms. He saw agent Crowley's eyes go a little wide at this, "Nice, enjoy that body while you can." he stated with a chuckle.

"The hell is that suppose to mean?" Jake spat. Agent Crowley shook his head, "Girl's like that don't stick around for too long, either that or she does and she turns into a living nightmare to be around." Jake glared at him harshly, "Don't fucking talk about my wife like that, or i'll tear off your arm and beat you with it." This just made Agent Crowley laugh all the more, "Hey, I'm just stating facts."

Jake straightened in his seat and looked away from him this time, "You don't know fucking shit about me, or my wife, so don't pretend that you know what she will or wont do, now seriously - fuck off before i do something you'll regret." Agent Crowley shrugged and smirked, "Whatever you want." and walked away, much to Jake's approval.

_You wont be able to talk like that for much longer Muller._ he silently told himself.

* * *

2 hours had passed. Extremely slowly. Jake had been left to his thoughts and what he was thinking about wasn't making the time pass any faster. He had made up his mind, but why was it eating at him? this was a good thing, a good thing for everyone, even if nobody understood why. Jake needed to tell Leon, he needed to explain himself to someone, so then at least 1 person would understand.

Jake stood up and walked over to Leon, he had been nervous about doing this all day, _hey. now or never._

"Jake, what's up?" Leon asked as Jake sat beside him, folding his arms and dropping his stare to his hands. "Leon, were friends right?" Jake asked. Leon was generally surprised, Jake wasn't the kind of guy to ask stuff like that, he was too sarcastic and uncaring for it. Leon instantly knew Jake was about to tell him something important. "Of course, what's going on?", Jake took a deep breath in and slowly let it out.

"Hear me out when i say this Leon, but theirs really no other way to put this." he slowly shook his head.

"I'm not going back to New York, or back to Sherry, ever."

* * *

Sherry jolted awake, the alarm out of her phone was as loud and annoying as ever. She saw it was 11:00 PM, and that she'd received a text, Sherry frowned at the time,_ Good job sleeping in so late Birkin._

She didn't have work today though, the DSO was going to be busy today making sure everything was in tact for the mission in Poland that Sherry wouldn't even be needed, she was glad though. Having Jake gone was going to suck, she just wanted to stay in bed all day and do nothing now that he was gone. Sherry glanced to Jake's side of the bed and sighed. _Didn't even wake me up to say bye._

She plonked her head back down on the pillow and opened up the message, it was from Jake.

To: Supergirl

_Hey Supergirl, hope you slept okay. (and that i didn't wake you) Be good while i'm gone. I'm handing my phone to Hunnigan now so i wont be able to reply, but take a look under your pillow when you wake up. I love you._

Sherry smiled and reached under her pillow, to find an envelope with her name in Jake's scribbly hand writing she loved so much. She gently broke the seal, took out the letter and began to read

_I love you Sherry, no matter what, i hope you know that. I know i can be an idiot at times, but trust me when i say if i look like a total prick sometimes, I'm doing it for good reasons. Take care of yourself, and please call Claire the minute you need those booster shots, don't give me a reason to worry, and please, don't ever worry about me. _

_Jake_

Short. Sweet. To the point. Jake Muller in a nutshell. Sherry smiled and read the letter over again, savoring the 'I love you' at the top by focusing on it for a good 5 minutes. _Why did he say all that stuff about being an idiot though? Jake's too proud to admit that stuff._

Sherry shrugged and gently slipped the letter back into its envelope, and put it in her bedside locker. She slowly sat up and hopped out of bed to take a bath, a nice long bubble bath was sure to wake her up and hopefully get her going, she sure wasn't going to sit around all day feeling sorry for herself. Well, maybe after her bath she'll take a bit of a nap to quell her sulky mood, but after that, no more feeling sorry for herself. There was no need to worry about Jake, there never was. Jake was as tough as they came.

She yawned and walked into her bathroom, shutting the door behind her and leaning against it for a minute, _Seriously though Jake, why did you say all that being an idiot stuff, you're making me worried now.._

Sherry wished that she could hear Jake's voice in her ear telling her something like '_Stop being an idiot and worrying over a guy like me, its wasted energy to worry about a tank being hurt by absolutely nothing.'_

Sherry sighed, and stood upright,_ Stop thinking about it, he said not to worry so.. don't worry._

* * *

"What the fuck do you mean you're not going back?" Leon harshly whispered. They were in a small enough space on the copter, there were men everywhere so Leon had to be careful not to over react. If they were alone though, Leon's actions would be completely different.

"Leon, i can't be a dad. Hell, i didn't even like babysitting when i was a kid, i have a short temper and i can't stand the crying, and i cannot change diapers. Leon i just can't do it." Jake wasn't looking at Leon at all, but Leon was staring daggers at him, just waiting for him to meet his glare.

"So you're running because you're afraid? how fucking dare you." It was rare for Leon to so upset that he'd start cursing, but Sherry was practically his daughter. Sherry had a tough life, and when Jake had come into IT, Sherry had never been so happy. Sherry laughed more, she was more positive and outgoing with him, he completed her. So why the hell was he saying he was leaving her?

"I'm not running Leon, I'm doing Sherry and everyone else a favor." Jake stated. "Bullshit. Absolute. Bullshit. How are you doing Sherry _any_ favors by running out on her when shes at her most vulnerable?" Leon spat, about ready to grab Jake's collar and lift him up.

"Because here's how it's going to fucking work out Leon - Me and Sherry have a kid, i can't handle having the kid, it's crying ticks me off and i'm mad all the time. I take out how mad i am on her. _Sherry_ hates me, my_ kid_ hates me. They both leave me, then you, and Chris and all my other friends leave me because of how horrible i am, then i'm left with nothing." Jake finally met his glare with one as intimidating as Leon's, and it was 100% dead serious.

"Jake, that's not going to happen. Babies crying ticks everyone off, its-"

"No, Leon. I have the shortest fucking temper in the world, i will get extremely frustrated and i'll probably lash out on Sherry because she's the person I'm around the most. Leon i can't give myself the chance to hurt her. I can't stick around her and hurt her, i can't." Jake finished that last part with a mumble, and for a minute, Leon was stuck for words.

"If you leave Sherry, it'll break her heart Jake." Leon whispered. Jake shook his head slowly, "Please Leon, I'm asking you as a friend to explain myself to her, because i'll never get to chance."

Leon stared at him for a long minute and then looked away, "No. If you leave Sherry, it's going to hurt her badly, if you cause it, you're the only one who can fix it." he then reached out and grabbed the top of Jake's shirt and yanked on it hard, pulling Jake closer to him. "But i swear to god, if you go through with this Jake, I wont be telling Sherry a single thing you've told me today, and i will also take it upon myself to beat the shit out of you."

Jake met his glare dead in the eye with a stare, no sign of intimidation what so ever could be seen. "I deserve that, but you have to know I'm doing this for Sherry because i love her."

Leon let go of Jake's shirt and shoved him back, "If you loved her, you'd stay like a man, but you're nothing but a coward if you think running from your problem's will solve anything."

Leon stood up to walk away but he turned to Jake, "Sherry will have to raise your kid all alone if you leave her, and your kid will grow up without a dad like you had to, do you really want that for your kid?"

Jake thought long and hard, "I'm not my obnoxious prick of a father, and i never will be, don't fucking compare me to him." Leon let out a noise of disgust, "You're walking out on your wife and kid, you sound exactly like him." and with that, Leon walked off to the other end of the copter and sat there, putting his face in his hands, he looked exhausted.

_Leon, this is what's best, this way i don't hurt anyone in the long run. You just.. don't understand why this is whats best, for everyone, but it is, it really is._

and there it was again, that horrible, mind crushing feeling of being alone in the world. Sherry had built Jake's confidence, she'd given him purpose, a friendship, a relationship, more than he ever thought he'd get in life, but he had to give it all up now.

_If I'm alone, i don't hurt anyone. Isn't it better not to hurt someone than risk it?_

In Jake's case, if there was even the slightest chance of hurting Sherry, Jake would take every precaution to avoid it, and it seemed he was now forced to take the most drastic measure to ensure he'd never hurt again.

_I'm sorry Sherry, I'm so, so sorry, maybe someday you'll understand. _he whispered under his breath.

* * *

**Waahh Jake nooo ;;**

**Next chapter will be the mission for Jake, i expect it will be a long enough chapter in itself, then the real fun starts keke**

**Thanks for reading, hope you're enjoying it so far!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Day 31 of the Mission**

The BOW Manufacturing site wasn't that bad. Jake received 3 meals a day, had a comfortable enough bed, and all he ever had to do was stay in the watch tower and keep an eye out for any 'disturbances'.

Everyone who worked for the Mysteries man that Jake had talked to had no idea who he was, they didn't even have a name, everyone simply referred to him as "The Puppet Master." Jake hadn't even seen him. He heard his voice at one point though, talking to the productions manager about dates or something. From what he heard, the man had a thick Spanish accent, to the point where Jake had trouble understanding his words, but it was something.

Jake felt that just hearing his voice was pretty insignificant, but it had been about a month and Jake was the only one to actually come in any sort of contact with the man, so he decided after much contemplation to report it. As Jake suspected, it didn't really help in the ways of the investigation, but Hunnigan assured Jake that any information could help in the future if it didn't at the present.

Jake had decided he wasn't going back to Sherry, that had been set in stone for a while. He wasn't going to give himself the chance to hurt her, he loved her too much for that, and if it meant having to leave her, then so be it. He decided he'd stick it out for the entire mission, and go his separate ways from the agent's when the time came. He knew Sherry would never forgive him, so he thought about writing a letter explaining himself to her, so he could live with himself. Jake had yet to sort through the details, it really hurt to think about, he obviously wanted to stay with Sherry for the rest of his life, but things had changed.

"Day dreaming Ivan?" a soldier Jake was working this shift with mocked. Jake shrugged, "Not really, just bored." The soldier nodded, and went back to studying the surrounding area with a telescope. Jake couldn't understand why though, nothing _ever_ happened, no trespassers, no attacks, no wild dangerous animals, not even a suspicious rustle of a bush. It was pretty bland staring out into the run down and probably haunted ruin's of the ghost town they were in. Jake said haunted because every night at dinner time in the workers cafeteria, the men would tell a variety of ghost stories that Jake found interesting and hell, sometimes believable. He didn't really _believe_ in the paranormal, but the stupid stories made him more spooked when he convinced himself that they were real, and the mild scare he got from them was refreshing.

Most days, when he wasn't missing Sherry, he occasionally distracted himself by the thoughts of his own ghost story. He tried making one up about a lady in white on the towers stairs, but it seemed cliché, so he considered his story to be a work in progress. All great stories took major thought. His mind trailed off into a warm memory of a Halloween night Sherry and Jake had spent together about a year ago.

They hadn't done anything particularly special. They shut off all the lights in the apartment and lit candles, and turned on a particularly bloody horror he knew Sherry would be terrified of in minutes. She was shaking like a leaf by about 15 minutes in, and he remembered holding her close, to stop her violent shaking. He turned off the movie Sherry was clearly not enjoying and turned on a comedy, to loosen Sherry up and put her in a better mood. Around 2 am they had started telling the ghost stories.

Sherry told a fantastic ghost story that was told to her by her dad when she was 8 or so. Apparently, her dad swore up and down that this was a true story. One night when he was working very late in the lab, he heard crying down the hall from a child, and when he went to investigate he found that their was a 2-3 year old child standing dead center of a testing room, holding a raggedy old bear close in her arms as her crying grew louder. Her body eventually seemed to fade the more William had stared at it, and when she finally disappeared, he heard loud deafening screaming all around him, that lasted for about 2 minutes before abruptly stopping. When he got back to his office he saw that the bulb in his desk lamp had exploded and fragments of the glass lay were littered all over his desk, the next day he requested to be moved labs.

Jake always wondered if William Birkin was really telling the truth. He always assumed that Sherry's father was just trying to scare her and give her a good story, but then again, what if it really was true? Jake shivered at the thought. Ghosts were one thing, but a child ghost was terrifying to Jake, and for some reason, seemed all the more believable since it _was_ an Umbrella establishment William had worked for, anything could happen. It was then that Jake decided his story needed a child ghost.

Jake groaned, he involuntarily trailed back to happy memories of Sherry Birkin again, and that had been his one downfall the past month. He kept telling himself that if he simply pretended Sherry no longer existed, things would be much easier, but the thing was that Sherry was Jake's entire world, and their wasn't a hope in hell that Jake could cleanse himself of her warm smile, her gentle grip on his arms, her soft lips, her sweet voice, and her adorable quirks like the way she would get mad at Jake and make a sour face, or playfully slap him on the arm when he told a vulgar joke, or when she was nervous, how she would start playing with her wedding ring and instantly become very interested in it. If Jake forgot those little things, he'd forget her, and if he forgot her, he wouldn't even know himself.

And Leon? he had been so angry when they arrived, that he avoided Jake like the plague. _I deserve it._ Jake always reminded himself when ever Leon and him locked eye contact and Leon quickly broke it with a scoff before walking away. The month had been tough to say the least without Leon. Sherry had gotten Jake used to a life with friends who truly cared for him and made him feel welcome, suddenly going cold turkey on it made Jake feel completely out of it.

He wanted to explain everything to Leon, but he knew it'd just make him even more aggravated towards him, during the first 2 week's, Jake had narrowly escaped a hot tempered Leon's attempting to starting a fight when he'd had too much to drink one Saturday night. He'd never understand, and that was something Jake was going to have to deal with sadly. Leaving Sherry meant leaving all the friends he'd made, all the people he'd ever met in New York, his cozy apartment that always smelled like Sherry and of _home_, and was leaving a life he _could_ of had, a life as a father.

_You were going fucking soft anyway Muller. You don't need anyone, never had and never will. You just hurt everyone. Do you really want to fuck up a kid? and not just any kid, a kid with Sherry. Fuck no. Just forget about it all. _Whispered a voice in the back of Jake's mind, the voice was Jake's old way of thinking, his asshole-ish way of thinking. He huffed, the asshole voice was starting to make sense again, and when it's words made sense, Jake was headed for trouble.

"Hey Ivan, does this look weird to you? i think its an animal or something, but.. " the soldier asked, offering Jake the telescope. Jake vaguely recalled the mans name, something like.. Ben? Barney? Barry? Barry, that was it. "Let me have a look then Barry." Jake said, swiveling the telescope to him, and looking through, allowing Barry to adjust the angle. At first, Jake saw nothing, and then suddenly he saw what appeared to be a woman dressed in combat gear peer out from a broken wall. Jake smirked, "Fucking finally! a little action." he proclaimed, jumping out of his seat to grab a Sniper.

When he returned to his seat with the Sniper, he was like a child on Christmas morning, eagerly loading the Sniper with bullets. Barry cleared his throat and patted Jake on the back to get his attention, "No can do Ivan, take a look." Jake raised an eyebrow and went for the telescope when he could clearly see what Barry was talking about without it. The woman had set off a few smoke bombs of some sort, about 3-4 all close together, so not only had Jake and Barry lost the woman, they hadn't a chance of seeing through the smoke so far away.

Jake's smirk broadened into an excited smile. "Perfect." he whispered. Barry simply rolled his eyes and folded his arms, "Augh, yeah, _perfect._" he mocked. Jake slung the Sniper over his arm and picked up a handgun and some ammo, and began loading it when he scoffed, "Jesus Barry, nothing ever fucking happens. you'd swear by your bratty attitude that its never a moments rest around here." Barry shrugged, "Well excuse me for preferring the peace and quiet to the gun shots and screaming."

Jake picked up an extra box of ammo and stuffed it in his hoodies pocket. "Well, i prefer the gunshots and screaming, blocks out everything else." Barry eyed him curiously, "That doesn't sound dark at all." he retorted.

After a quick threat to report him for doing nothing about a trespasser, Jake got Barry on his feet and the 2 moved towards the smokes origin. The smoke had more or less cleared when they arrived, and things were eerily quiet. Too quiet for either mans liking.

"Watch my back, I'll watch yours." Jake whispered, taking the gun out of his belt slowly, remaining vigilant. Barry glanced over to Jake and jerked his head towards a clearing, silently urging Jake to move over their with him.

The two men jogged over to the clearing, and found a backpack, nearly empty, save for something heavy inside. Jake shook the bag and then zipped it open. Jake was very confused to find a large rock inside, which had a note attached. "Barry, stay vigilant." Jake whispered, as he pulled the note free from the string tied tightly around the rock and unfolded it.

'Idiot.' it read. Jake raised an eyebrow at it and suddenly, he heard a click behind him, the click of a gun. "Get up." a foreign voiced whispered, "_Slowly._" Jake slowly rose to his feet and dared a quick glance to his right, and saw Barry was lying face down in the dirt, completely still. _Shit, this isn't good._ Jake held his hands up and didn't dare to make any quick movements, he needed to think. _Wrap an arm around hers, take the gun, grab the- Shit! _Jake hissed in pain as he felt a needle dig into his neck, and felt a steady stream of liquid inject into him.

"Lets hope one of you survives the virus, id rather bring back at least one subject to the big cheese." the foreign voice of a woman announced. "And if you survive, well.. lets just leave that as a surprise." Jake didn't really feel anything at first, but he then felt the back of his sniper being bashed into his head, and then everything went black.

* * *

**A few days later**

"How are you feeling now that you're on the updated boosters?" Rebecca asked Sherry, who was looking quite exhausted, lying in her comfy and warm, but now lonely bed. It had been a month and Sherry was shocked to find she had already gotten a small baby bump, Sherry could clearly feel the bump anytime she brushed her fingers along the spot, and so could Rebecca. Rebecca was just as stumped as Sherry as to why she already had such a noticeable bump. She had a theory that the G-Virus was just speeding up the pregnancy, most likely shortening the cycle from 9 months to - a heavily estimated and unreliable as of the moment - 7 months.

Sherry had required the shots about 2 weeks after Jake left, and once she started taking them, that's when things got a bit weird. The boosters purpose was to give her energy when she needed it, but sometimes after taking them, she still felt drained. On the days where she still felt drained, her stomach would ache uncontrollably, she wouldn't be able to stand and at times, could barely open her eyes and would be extremely sensitive to given situation's, often everyday inconveniences like running out of bread or Claire getting to Sherry's a little late. Panic attacks were something that happened often, but Rebecca knew how to handle those well - Rebecca referred to these days as Sherry's bad days. Rebecca concluded, from Sherry's pale complexion, that today was a bad day.

"I'm okay.. a bit tired." Sherry whispered, a blatant lie. Rebecca bit her lip and jotted down some notes, of what, Sherry didn't know. "Hmm.. i think this is a bad day, is Claire around to take care of you? or maybe Jill?" Rebecca asked, carefully refilling Sherry's boosters, watching her carefully out of the corner of her eye. Sherry gave her a weak nod, "Claire should be here at 2." Rebecca checked her watch, it read 1:36 PM. "She'll be here soon then. Remind her that this is a bad day and that mean's you need two doses."

Sherry nodded once again, as she was officially too tired to talk. Rebecca saw her falling asleep, and decided she'd just have to remind Claire herself. "Alright Sherry, it'd be best if you slept for a while." she announced, and stood up to leave as Sherry was now fast asleep, but just in case she was a little concious, Rebecca whispered it.

In all honestly, Rebecca felt horrible. Both for the fact that Sherry was clearly suffering, and that SHE didn't even know where to start her research on how she could possibly remedy it. The test results that her husband Billy had retrieved for her on the animal pregnancies remained as vague as ever when it came to the treatment with fatigue. What Rebecca could gather was that Umbrella simply didn't care or didn't treat them or didn't realize they even required treatment for fatigue until it was too late.

Sherry had grown so exhausted in the past 2 weeks, that she was unable to even go into work anymore. The least Rebecca could do was cover for Sherry, explaining the situation in its entirety, so Hunnigan offered to allow Sherry to work from home when ever she needed it. Rebecca wasn't sure if Sherry's fatigue was going to be a permanent thing throughout the pregnancy or if it was just her body reacting to the change, so she couldn't even tell Hunnigan what the situation was like in that area, hell if she knew herself then at least she could tell Sherry. Rebecca felt she owed Sherry as many shortcuts as she could offer her, so she visited her every morning to give her her shot's. Though, she didn't do it on every day, she left the job to Claire on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, and the odd morning when she had work over at the BSAA.

Rebecca would be lying if she said that Sherry was going to be fine and that was certain. All the pregnant animals had died due to exhaustion or dehydration, what was to stop Sherry from dying of the same thing? Sure, the boosters _seemed_ to work, but Sherry was only in a month and required a very strong dose, stronger than Rebecca had anticipated she would _ever_ need, and dehydration? well, it was less likely, but still a possibility. The G-Virus drastically shifted its attention to the baby and would most likely take as much food and water as it needed, leaving Sherry with very little.

Rebecca was able to infuse Sherry's booster shots with various Vitamins and Minerals, which seemed to help her, but if this was only the beginning, then Rebecca would have to keep improving and upping the dosages Sherry received in order to keep her in the best possible health. "Don't worry Sherry.. you've got a lot of people watching over you, we'll all take care of you." she whispered, gently tucking a piece of Sherry's hair behind her left ear.

"Jake.." Sherry barely whispered, suddenly tightening the shut Sherry had on her eyes, and readjusted herself before going limp and back into a full sleep. Rebecca sighed. _There she goes again_ she thought. Sherry often had nightmares on her bad days, and they seemed to involve Jake in some shape, make or form most of the time. Sherry would never actually talk about the nightmares, but most of the time, she'd wake up and whisper Jake's name, as if she was calling him, before falling back asleep. Rebecca hoped Jake would get back soon, his absence was stressing Sherry out beyond belief, and she often worried about him dying or something else that brought her close to tears.

Sherry was experiencing the backlash of side effects from the boosters though, one of the symptoms especially, which was radical mood swings. Sherry could very quickly go from a bouncy happy attitude to a depressed one, but the young woman tried to hide it as best she could. Rebecca always saw through it though, but never actually said it to Sherry.

Rebecca stood to walk out and saw Claire leaning against the wall looking concerned, she instantly looked up and smiled weakly at Rebecca upon seeing her exist. "Hey, hows she?" Claire asked, her voice sounded a little strained. "Bad day, I'm afraid." Rebecca replied. Claire gave one lazy nod and pushed herself off the wall, "I wont add to it then." Claire stated, gently pushing the door open. "Add to it?" Rebecca curiously inquired.

Claire stared at Sherry for a long moment and then shook her head, slowly closing the door once more. "This is gonna kill her." Claire whispered. Rebecca contemplated asking about it, but it seemed private. She was about to make up an excuse to leave when Claire spoke, "I was in Sherry's office, getting her assignment for the week for her, and decided id ask Hunnigan about Jake, you know, thought it might cheer Sherry up to hear he was doing okay and the mission was going well."

Rebecca gave a sharp nod, urging her to continue. Claire sighed and buried her face in her hands, "Jake dropped off the radar yesterday afternoon, Hunnigan can't get a track on him and the other agent's can't find him either, its like he's vanished." Claire had gone slightly pale. Rebecca was shocked, "H-he.. he's missing? Jake is really missing? but.. i mean its Jake, he's gonna be fine, isn't he?" Claire shrugged and stared at the ground hopelessly, "Leon and a few other agents found a clearing with traces of blood splattered on a rock, so they have no idea what to think, but assumed who ever took Jake may have bashed his head in with it, possibly killing him. "

"They.. what?" came a small voice from the edge of the sitting room Rebecca and Claire were in, it was Sherry. She looked exhausted, and it broke Claire's heart to see a tear roll down her cheek. "Oh god, Sherry did you hear.. ?" Sherry sniffled and gave a wary nod, "Jake.. h-he's.. " Sherry's eyes blinked rapidly, expelling all tears that had welled up, and she shook violently.

"Claire, she's about to faint." Rebecca stated, jumping to her feet to get to Sherry's side. As soon as Claire arrived beside her, Rebecca was already holding her upright with a firm but gently grip. Sherry suddenly dropped, but was caught by Claire with ease. They eased her limp body onto the couch and Claire gently stroked her cheek in a loving way. "Come on Sherry, wake up." she whispered, now gently patting Sherry's cheeks.

Sherry woke up with a jolt and immediately began sobbing, "Oh my god Jake is dead, hes dead.. " she choked out.

Claire shook her head, "No Sherry, nobody knows that."

Sherry took a sharp breathe in and shook her head at Claire, "I do! i had a dream Jake was going to die, and it happened! I can't raise this baby alone, i can't do it along Claire! I-" Sherry suddenly gasped for air and she shut her eyes tight.

"Claire, get me the booster shot in her room, now!" Rebecca yelled urgently, and shot up to hold Sherry's now trashing body. She took hold of Sherry's hand and stroked it, "Hold on Sherry.. hold on." Rebecca repeated, until finally Claire returned with the booster briefcase.

Rebecca threw it open and grabbed an injector and injected it into her neck. Sherry let out a gasp when she seemed to regain control of her breathing, but her tears continued to fall.

Sherry was now softly sobbing, both reflecting on what had just happened and the devastating news of her husband. She pulled Claire into a tight hug and the redhead gently rocked her. "Sherry, don't give up like that. Jake's built like a tank, he wouldn't go down this easy.

Sherry sniffled and nodded. "Claire.. what if he.. what if he's.. "

Claire shook her head. "Stop. Stop thinking like that. Jake's fine Sherry, hes too stubborn to die so easily."

Sherry rubbed her tears away and stared off into the distance, not quite meeting Claire or Rebecca's worried stares, and she gently stoked where the baby bump was in an attempt to calm herself. "I-i.." Sherry choked out

Claire continued rocking her gently and whispered "It'll be fine Sherry, Jake likes to operate on his own, you know its possible he got sick of waiting around and ditched the ear piece to work on stuff without the DSO noticing or something." Sherry nodded and whispered between her sobs. "Y-yeah.. but I miss Jake so much Claire, i want him home." she croaked, her breathing had gotten noticeably shorter.

Claire nodded, holding and squeezing her hands slightly, wearing a weary smile. "I know sweetheart, i know, but he'll be back, these guys - if there are guys - wont be able to keep him contained."

Sherry suddenly felt her body go weak on her. _Shouldn't of let myself get so worked up, and on a bad day too._ She thought. Claire felt how limp she went and gently stroked her back, "Okay, time for bed." Claire softly whispered, gently picked up Sherry and lead her to her room, tucking her into her bed like a sleepy child.

"It'll be okay Sherry, if he really has been taken, these guys will realize they're in way over their heads sooner or later and let him go for fear he'd kill them." she said with a nervous laugh. Sherry smiled and softly laughed back at her between her sobbing, although she wasn't at all feeling up to laughing, it wasn't for her benefit anyway. Claire hugged her gently and urged her to get to sleep, and walked out.

_All i want is my husband here, home._ She wished, before closing her eyes and crying out the last of her frustrations into her pillow.

* * *

".. Honored.. -ou here Mi..er Muller.. when.. see you..take.. " a man's voice echoed throughout the room of what sounded like a warehouse.

Jake's head pounded like a drum from where he'd been hit with the back of the sniper, and could barely hear the man, he only caught fragments of what he was saying, and zoned in and out of consciousness for what seemed like hours. He opened his eyes to see harsh light pouring in from a sky light, and saw 2 men, 1 dead in front of him, and 1 behind - a body guard perhaps? The light was too harsh for Jake's tired eyes, and so he instantly shut them after he heard the man speak again, all Jake heard was a few muffled words.

He was happily submerged in darkness and silence for what seemed like a minute, but when he opened his eyes, the warehouse was dark. _Night time? it was obnoxiously fucking bright a minute ago. _Jake looked around for any signs of life, but saw none._ I need to get the fuck out of here. _Jake was tied to a chair, his hands tied behind the back of the chair, and his legs tied separately to the chairs.

Jake looked around the space he was in, looking for something sharp. He thought he might see maybe a hook or old nail he could use to cut the ropes around his hands, but all he saw were damp looking cardboard boxes stacked atop shelves all around him.

"Looking for something, Muller?" came a gruff Spanish accent from behind him. Jake tried to look back but it was useless, the man was hiding in the shadows and was directly behind him, so Jake hadn't a hope of seeing him. "Yeah, a beer or something." he yelled back. testing his sense of humor.

The man clapped his hands together and let out a loud 'Ha' that rang through the warehouse. "My, what a bold one you are. If you knew who i was, you wouldn't be so quick to talk like that."

Jake shrugged, or tried to, the rope was tied pretty tight. "I somehow doubt that." Jake replied. It made Jake feel very on edge that the man wouldn't come out of the shadows to meet Jake's eye, but Jake had a feeling the man was probably an overweight and perhaps an old man, as in Jake's experience, they usually were. not that it mattered.

The man came up behind Jake and poked a gun to the back of his head. "You know, you're quite entertaining." the man said with the slightest hint of amusement.

"Thanks, my wi- mom thinks i'm a hoot." _Shit, you almost said wife, you're not with Sherry anymore Jake, stop!_ He grinded his teeth together angrily trying to get his hands out of the rope, but it was useless. "I hope we can learn to enjoy each other just as much." the man stated, prodding the back of Jake's neck with the gun, much to his annoyance.

"So." the man continued. "I am not an unreasonable man Mister Muller. By surviving the beta run of my fine establishments new virus, you have earned yourself a promotion, congrats." he stated. "Yeah yeah, woop-de-fucking-doo," he sarcastically remarked.

He slapped the back of Jake's head. "_That being said." _He hissed, "You can either choose to co-operate with us and fulfill your purpose, or we forcefully take control, your decision to make boy."

"What do i win if i'm a good boy." Jake asked, growing more annoyed by the minute.

"The chance of walking out of here without a broken arm." he stated harshly. If Jake wasn't tied up, he would of ripped this guys arms off and beat him with it, but he was trapped, only in a position to receive pain, not inflict. In reality, there was only one option, to behave and take the opportunity when it presented itself.

The man groaned and mocked a loud yawn. "Can we wrap this up sweetheart? I've grown rather tired of your sarcastic tone and only wish to strike a deal."

"Alright, I'll behave." Jake said finally after a few minutes.

The man placed a hand on his shoulder and used the other to point at a random shadow off in the distance. "Javier? escort him to his new.._ room._" he said, with a complete tone of authority.

A man emerged from the shadows and untied Jake's feet, and left his tied up hands untouched, simply sliding them up from the chairs back and shoving Jake toward's a door down the far right corner of the warehouse. They had started walking towards it when the man shouted at Javier.

"Oh, and Javier? He will be transported to the Experimental tube room, so please prepare him, out cold if you need to."

Jake's head snapped back to the man, "Wait, Experimental tube room? Fuck no! i ca-"

and like that, Jake felt the familiar bash of a gun's end against the back of his head, maybe even at the same spot, and once again, the world melted to black.

* * *

**Soooo tired! phew, i wanted to get this done cause i have Summer Tests coming and updates could be delayed for a bit while i study for those so!**

**Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed! review if you have the time as usual hehe!**


	7. Chapter 7

Jake felt weird. That was the only way he could describe it. That and.. wet. He felt oddly wet.

He looked himself up and down, but noticed nothing out of the ordinary. _I'm not even fucking wet in the slightest._ He growled with agitation.

He was in, what appeared to be a room of pitch black, but he could see himself clearly. For some reason, it didn't strike him as weird. He felt like he was in a trance, like he wasn't controlling what he did.

Suddenly, he heard the crying of a child from behind him, and when he glanced back, he noticed.. a door?

His feet acted on their own, drawn to the child's crying and the new fixture in the room, he walked through it. Jake was suddenly in a blindingly white room, that had only Sherry in it, lying on a bed

"Sherry.." Jake whispered, not entirely surprised to see her, for some reason. _Everything feels so.. wrong._

He walked up to Sherry and saw she was holding a baby. Jake suddenly felt a lump in his throat and went pale. "Sherry.. is that-"

"Ma'am, we cannot put the child's father on the birth certificate if hes not here for us to confirm it." said a nurse from behind him. Sherry looked right past Jake to the nurse and wearily said, "My husband walked out on us, so my son doesn't have a father."

Jake was shocked, "Uh, I'm right here!" he practically yelled, and waved to Sherry who didn't seem to notice him at all. Sherry gently strokes the baby boys head and kissed his forehead gently. "You know Nathan.. i actually thought for a while that.. he'd stay with us, pretty stupid of me huh.. "

_I've heard that before._

Yes, Jake's mother Miranda had said the very same thing to him when he was 6, when his mother was having a particularly stressful day, and Jake had asked her what was wrong. She had been upset over their money problems and how Jake's selfish father would never help them, but if he had...

"Things could of been different." he said aloud, not that Sherry noticed.

The room suddenly went quite dark and finally black. A second later, a new room lit up, to a.. living room in an apartment? Jake and Sherry's apartment..

"Miranda, please!" a familiar voice yelled from the kitchen, no, not a familiar voice. _Jake's voice._

"You know what Albert? you left me and Jake, you don't get to come back when it suits you!" Sherry's voice this time, yelled back.

_Albert? Miranda? What the hell.. ?_

He walked into the kitchen to see a couple arguing. Sherry and Jake. Sherry was rocking a baby boy with the slightest touch of red hair. Jake.. the phantom Jake, he looked like he was about ready to scream.

"Miranda, Stop, allow me to help you, for once!" Jake's phantom said. "Any help from you is tainted!" Sherry countered, attempting to lower her voice for the sake of the child, and abruptly opening the door to her apartment and shoved him out. "Stay away from me and Jake." Sherry said after a few moments, and slammed the door.

It hurt Jake to see her in such a helpless and vulnerable state, and hurt him even worse when he saw her break down in tears the minute the door shut. The room went black.

Jake suddenly felt like someone had left an ice cube on his neck, and the cold was spreading. He scratched at his neck but it didn't do anything. He felt like he was covered in water, but checking himself once again, he wasn't.

A house opened this time. Jake felt an odd sense of warmth, and felt more in control of his actions now. He tried to move in a certain direction to explore the kitchen, but it felt like he was superglued to where he stood in the sitting room.

Sherry entered and instantly took notice of him straight away, Jake felt oddly excited from the sudden attention he was now getting from her. "Why did you leave?" she whispered to him, tears threatening to break.

"I didn't leave, not yet.." he mumbled. Sherry punched him on the arm and to Jake's surprise it hurt, it_ really_ hurt. "Sherry, what the hell!" he exclaimed. Sherry sniffled and rubbed at her tearful eyes. "Just wake up.. " she whispered between sobs.

"Wake up?" he asked, but received no reply. Sherry screamed something, but Jake didn't hear it. He heard the loud rumbling of Thunder from outside the house, but for some reason he wasn't fazed by the noise. He simply stared at Sherry. "Jake come on.. We need you.." she reasoned. "Sherry i.."

"Jake! We're going to die if you don't wake the fuck up!" she croaked, and began sobbing. Jake was shocked, not only did he not understand why Sherry yelled for him to wake up, she cursed. She _never_ cursed. _Who the hell is we?_ _Is this.. even Sherry?_

"Hey hey.. Sherry its okay.." he whispered, pulling her into a tight hug. "Jake you need to wake up now.." she said into his chest.

"I'm awake Sherry." he stated, though was sure she didn't mean in a physical sense. _Wake up to.. my responsibility maybe? is that what she means?_ Another loud clap of thunder, this time closer. He also heard a steady stream or cursing coming from a stranger outside. He never investigated it. He didn't care, and he didn't understand why.

Jake heard what sounded like a bubble bursting underwater above his head. He didn't care, and he didn't question it.

He wanted to ask questions. _Wheres the baby? Wheres our apartment? Why do i feel soaking wet? Why did you curse? Why do you keep saying Wake up? Why can't i control what i do? and why the fuck can't i say any of this out loud?_

Sherry suddenly pushed Jake off with a surprisingly strong force, which made him stumble, and Sherry ran into another room. "S-Sherry, where are you.." he trailed off, because his legs had already began chasing her. he ran into another black room, and heard Sherry from the door of the black room.

"Jake, you're better than this! You have Sherry to take care of!" Sherry yelled at him, with a terrifying smirk that made Jake shiver. _This isn't Sherry._ Sherry slammed the door, leaving Jake in complete darkness. "Sherry get back-"

Jake heard the crunch of glass, and another rumble of thunder, but this one felt closer to him.

Jake turned left and right, desperately looking for a door, waiting for the darkness to morph into a room for him. After a long few moments, he spied a child out of the corner of his eye, with a slight tuff of red hair on his lead.

Jake hesitantly walked towards him, and could hear the loud thud of his heart in his chest. For some reason, he didn't feel like that was weird. As he got closer though, the boy began to cry. "Get away from him." a male voice hissed.

Leon.

"Leon.. look i-" Jake nervously started. Leon took out a knife and held it in front of him. He took an offensive stance in front of the crying child, and glared at Jake. "You left." he growled.

"Jesus, i didn't leave! not yet i didn't, stop-"

"_YOU LEFT._" Leon screamed, running at Jake with the knife. Jake's instincts told him to jump to the left and attempt to trip and disarm Leon, but his legs stayed planted to the ground, and for some reason, Jake wasn't afraid to die. He didn't feel the slash on his chest where Leon had cut him. Blood poured from Jake, but he didn't feel in the slightest. The rumbling of thunder once again.

Jake suddenly felt immense pain from his right shoulder, so much so that it made Jake scream in pain. Jake shut his eyes tight and gripped his shoulder. It felt some someone had just poured hot acid over it and hit it with a hammer.

Jake gasped from the pain and opened his eyes, to see no Leon and no baby. Alone. Again.

"Drain it! Drain the fucking thing!" came a voice from dead in front of him.

Jake felt drained, and frozen in the black room, frozen holding his shoulder, frozen from the fear, and numb from the entire experience. Why wasn't he reacting to anything? why wasn't he in control of anything? why wouldn't his legs co-operate with him? _What the fuck is all this?_

Jake immediately heard the rumbling of the thunder again, this time, so loud that it did something to him. It knocked him out of his dark world, and into a limbo where he could only focus on the sounds around him. Muffled whispered sounded more clear to him, but they still sounded distant.

Jake suddenly felt himself regain control of his body. he felt very stiff, and very wet. He peeled his heavy eyes open.

He saw water, water and glass, the water was tinted a light blue, though Jake saw a strand of red through the water, he traced it back to his shoulder that was bleeding, from what seemed like a gunshot wound. The glass had several huge cracks, and could see that 2 small holes had been made in it, most likely by bullets, and were making the water leak out. Jake seemed to be in a large tank of some sort. He looked at his arms, which both had wires connected to them.

_Did i.. dream all of that?_

_So.. Sherry doesn't hate me? I can still.._

Jake felt a mask strapped to his mouth which helped him breathe, but he was now starting to panic. _Shit, how the hell do i get out of here?_

"Jake, come on and wak-" Leon's muffled voice yelled to him, but was interrupted upon seeing Jake's eyes open. "Oh thank god, you're alive! Frankie, get him out!" Leon screamed, pulling the trigger several times on his trusty Handgun, though the cracks in the glass made him look incredibly distorted.

_Was.. Leon the one.. talking to me in my dream.. ?_

Jake heard a soft click and felt the water being sucked into a vent below his feet. As soon as the water was at around his chest, he ripped off the oxygen max and instantly collapsed against the glass, feeling the immense pain from the gunshot in his shoulder.

He stared out into the room he was in. It was _full_ of large tanks, with monsters in some, humans in others. Jake felt sick to his stomach. _Were they trying to turn me into a monster? _"Fuck." Jake growled from the pain in his shoulder, his terrifying dream and the realization of what had been happening around him as he was out.

Jake's ears rung with the sound of gunshots outside his tank. He could see Leon and a few BSAA soldiers shooting at some other men. It felt like he still wasn't in control of what was happening, and it terrified him. He wasn't sure if his body simply refused to react or _couldn't_.

"Jake, give me your hand!" Frankie yelled. Jake was breathing heavily, and was loosing a lot of blood, he felt like the world was spiraling out of his control again. "No." Jake whispered. _I'm in control now, i need to be in control!_

Jake turned and offered his left hand to Frankie, who pulled him out of the tank. The man took off his jacket and tore off the long sleeve, and tied it tightly around Jake's arm. "We need to get that bullet out, but we can't here!" he shouted.

Jake felt a horrible breeze and suddenly felt his face redden, he was completely naked. Frankie handed him a pair of pants and his torn Jacket. "Hurry up and get changed, we need to get out of here, The Puppet Master has this place rigged with explosives on a timer, we have Jill valentine working to defuse it but there's no garuntee."

_Jill? Jill's here?_

"Is Claire here?" he yelled. "No, she wanted to, to help you, but Sherry needed her."

"Why did she need her?" he was now very worried. Frankie simply shrugged. "How would i know? i don't even know her that well, I'm just repeating what Leon said."

Jake nodded and slowly came to a standing position. Frankie was lying low, trying to avoid the ongoing gunfire, but Jake ignored it. His dream made him feel like nothing could do anything to really hurt him right now, and that was very bad. "Frankie, Jill just said the bomb can't be disarmed, but she was able to stall it, get Jake out!" Leon yelled over his gunshots.

Jake suddenly felt a vice grip on his left arm and was dragged away to an exit, but Jake was not as steady on his feet as he thought he was and had to be practically lifted all the way. Jake gritted his teeth. Not only had Leon and his men saved him from turning into a brain washed BOW, they'd gotten him out of the warehouse relatively safe.

And what did Jake do? Nothing. He didn't stay to help Leon or any of the agent's fight the opposing side, he simply limped out like a coward. "No, it doesn't finish like this." Jake mumbled. Frankie raised an eyebrow at him, and before he could do anything, Jake ran back into the building, slamming the door behind him hard so Frankie wouldn't be able to follow, not until he forced it open maybe.

The gunshots were constant, and Jake could hear Leon shouting commands left and right, so Jake simply followed his voice. Every agent and BSAA soldier seemed to have someone they were focusing on, but Jake could see that at least 5 men were closing in on Leon, so he quickly ran over to them.

Jake caught sight of a steel pipe on the ground. "That'll do." he mumbled, and picked it up. His right arm ached, and was dripped blood through the makeshift sleeve bandage, but Jake needed to ignore the pain, he owed Leon, he couldn't walk away now.

"Hey asshole!" Jake shouted at 2 men closing in on Leon, and struck the man on the left extremely hard at the side of his face. Jake heard the crack of bones and the man crashed very hard into the other beside him. Jake had definitely knocked out the man he hit, but to be on the safe side, he struck the second man right on the head while he was down.

Leon had shot one of them but there was still 2 left. The 2 soldiers grabbed Leon but before Jake allowed them to disarm Leon, he tackled one of them, leaving the other man to Leon. The man Jake had tackled was quite slow to react, clearly all brawn and no brain.

Jake quickly ushered the man into a corner and took his chance to land a punch right in his nose, most likely breaking it. He glanced to his side to see the soldiers he'd knocked out had guns, and Jake wasted no time grabbing the gun for himself, and shot the soldier without hesitation. When he looked over to Leon, he'd kicked off the soldier long enough to shoot him.

Leon quickly nodded to Jake and he got the message. "Time to move, come on." Leon said, Jake nodded in agreement.

The two ran out and Jake could see Jill Redfield defusing said bomb at the side of the building, and Chris Redfield doing a role call of the soldiers and agents. "We need to blow up the factory, there are Tyrants and Hunters in those tubes, and theirs no way to save them, Jake was the only one in that whole lab unaffected by the serum. Idiots couldn't even figure out their virus didn't even do anything to Jake."

"Chris, 2 minutes!" Jill shouted, backing away from the small device on the wall and running back to Chris' side. "Alright, everyone load up, we've done all we can, the mission's officially completed." Chris announced. The Soldiers and agents cheered and whooped at his announcement, moving fast to the vans, but Leon stayed silent, watching Jake carefully.

Leon helped Jake get into a van with Chris and Jill and sat in with him. Everything had happened so fast, that Jake was still trying to process it.

Jill and Chris both hugged Jake at a safe rendez-vous meeting spot with the rest of the agents and soldiers, happy to see he was alive and well, and they told him he'd been missing for nearly 3 weeks. So, that would mean Jake was gone just about 2 months on this mission. When Jill told Jake that Sherry was worried sick, it nearly broke his heart.

Jake was looked after by a medic named Jayden Maxwell, who picked the bullet out of his wound fairly lively and had it patched up and in a sling to keep his arm elevated. He also gave Jake some pain killers so the pain was a lot more bearable now.

"Not that you care." Leon had mumbled in the back of the van after the group decided to move out and get to the airport. Leon stared at the back of Cchris' head and shook his head slowly. "She's my wife, I have, and always will." he said calmly. "Then _don't leave her_." Leon hissed.

Jake simply nodded. "Okay."

Leon's eyes shot wide open. "W-wait.. what?"

"Okay, i wont. Leon, i love her, she needs me.. i can see i was just acting like my prick for a dad, trying to run away from my responsibility. I need to be there with her through this all, i.. i know that now." He knew that his dream was a sign that if he left, it would only cause everyone pain, and that nobody would benefit.

He was just going to have to deal with the fact that he was having a kid with Sherry, and he should be happy. Besides, even if he wasn't fully sure if he was happy, he had 7 months to get used to the idea.

"You.. " Leon whispered, his voice visibly shaking. "Jake I.. "

Jake smiled. "I'm sorry i was an ass, lets forget it okay?" he said, trying to sound as sincere as he felt.

Leon looked at his hands. "I'm glad you're not leaving her, she needs you."

"I know that now Leon." he said. _She needs me? More like i need her._

"We thought you were dead, you know. All of us." Leon said after a while. Jake nodded "Good thing i'm not then."

"The DSO wanted us to stop looking for you a few days ago, but me and Chris promised ourselves we'd find you, but the DSO proclaimed you were dead 3 days ago, and i haven't been able to tell Sherry or Claire otherwise."

Jake thought for a minute. "Sherry thinks i'm dead?" he asked, a little panicked and when he thought of Sherry's reaction, it made him want to cry. "Give me your phone Leon." he asked with an edge in his voice.

Leon nodded and handed over his phone, and Jake instantly dialed out Sherry's mobile number.

After a long while waiting for the dial tone to stop, Jake heard Sherry's voice. "Hello?"

Jake was so stunned and overjoyed to hear her voice that he forgot to reply for a long minute, "Hey Sh-"

"Gotcha! Sorry i missed your call, leave me a message and number and I'll get back to you, thanks!" and with that, a small beep followed.

"Figures you wouldn't answer your phone when i need you to, Sherr bear." Jake mumbled, angrily tapping the 'End Call' button and giving it back to Leon.

"I think Claire said Sherry had a check up today with Rebecca or something, so maybe its just turned off? you know how hospitals are with phones."

Jake contemplated that for a minute and nodded, it seemed likely since Sherry was a little miss goody-two-shoes.

Chris eventually arrived in front of the very airport they'd come into it 2 months ago, it was an odd feeling being back, and leaving to go back to America, the original plan was to get as far from Sherry as possible so as not to hurt her, but Jake realized he'd only be doing what Wesker did to his mother, and the selfish prick only made his and his mothers lives horrible.

_I was almost that selfish prick._

No, Jake's fear of ruining Sherry and their son or daughters life was not gone, but he knew now that if he left, he had already lost, and he couldn't stand the thought of being apart from Sherry and his child. He needed to be there to protect them and give them a good life. _I need to get a job at the DSO that doesn't involve me going too far, i need to get us a house, we don't even have a crib or-_

Leon gently punched Jake on the arm and smiled, "Good to have you back Jake, i thought you were gone back to being an asshole."

Jake chuckled "For a while, i thought i had too."

Chris interrupted. "Alright ladies, we can write about this in our diaries and share friendship bracelets later, we have a copter to board."

Jill slapped Chris on the arm, "Chris!" she yelled, which Chris only laughed at.

The four got out of the van and walked towards the terminal that was designated for the BSAA's use and for the first time in months, Jake felt like he had his good life back. He was back with his friends, and he was on his way to see the most important person in his life.

And soon enough, they'd have a child together. Jake felt a strange rush of excitement about having a child with Sherry, and he smiled. He realized he was finally excited about having a kid, and knew how exactly he'd show it to Sherry properly.

"Hey guys, when does the copter leave?" Jake asked, Chris looked at his watch and said, "In an hour id say." Jake nodded, "Mind if i stop by the gift shop then, i wont be too long." Leon laughed, which Jake was confused about,_ He hardly guessed what i'm doing, did he?_

"Arent you forgetting something?" Leon asked with amusement. Jake shrugged, "Uh, i don't think so?"

Leon threw Jake a black wallet, which he caught without effort. "How'd you get my Wallet?" Jake asked, realizing he hadn't even missed it.

"We found that in a storage locker room in the warehouse before we found you, that and a sniper." Jake nodded and opened his wallet to the picture of him and Sherry and smiled. _I'll be back soon Supergirl._

Jake nodded, and started a soft jog towards the main airport building. "Thanks Leon, I'll be back soon!" said Jake, and Chris yelled back, "1 hour Jake! Terminal 7!" Jake simply waved back to them and kept running towards the building. _I hope they have what i need, or i'll have to get one over in New York._

* * *

**10 Hours Later**

Sherry was breathing heavily, she felt a pressure on her chest and was hoping desperately that it would lift so Claire would take that worried look off her face.

"Sweetie, calm down." Claire whispered.

"Where's Jake?" she asked breathlessly. Claire looked away. "I don't know Sherry.. "

Sherry threw the blankets off of her and sit up in her bed, and hunched over breathing heavily. Claire gently rubbed her back. "Its okay.. its okay." she said, trying to calm her down.

"Claire what if he-" Sherry was interrupted by the ring of her phone, Sherry's heart skipped a beat._ Jake? Please let it be Jake! _She picked up her phone and her heart sank when the phone went silent. Her screen read _'1 Missed Call - Unknown.'_

"Who was it?" Claire asked. Sherry shrugged. "Unknown number." she said hopelessly, and tossed her phone back on her bedside table. This time, Claire's phone went off, she slid her finger on her screen and Hunnigan's voice came through, she sounded ecstatic. "Claire! Claire are you alone?" she asked frantically

"No, Sherry's here." she said, staring at the caught-for-breathe Sherry with worry. "Go out into the hall, this is important Claire!" Claire nodded and mouthed _'1 Minute'_ to Sherry and walked out, softly closing the door behind her. "Alright, I'm alone, whats going on Hunnigan?"

"Claire, Its Jake." Claire's heart skipped a beat, and could barely hold back her tears. She knew Jake had died a while ago but couldn't believe it. Now.. she had to face reality.

"Claire they found him about 11 hours ago alive, he's on his way back to America now!" Claire's eyes went wide and she was caught for a reply. "W-what?" she asked, slowly the reality of Hunnigan's words sunk in. "He's alive?!" she asked, now with a smile spreading across her face. "Yes, yes thank god. He'll be back in the states in an hour or so, get Sherry down to the DSO and don't tell her why, we'll let it be a surprise."

Claire nodded ecstatically, she felt incredibly happy and knew Sherry would be back to her old self in no time. "Thank god... of course Hunnigan, we'll see you soon!" she happily beamed. "See you soon Claire." and with that, the 2 hung up.

Claire walked back into Sherry's room, trying her best to hide her excited grin. "Sherry, Rebecca forgot she needed to run a blood test, grab your coat."

Sherry groaned. "But we only just got back!"

"I know sweetie, but trust me, this is _very_ important." Sherry rolled her eyes and slowly got up from her bed, and changed her clothes.

She put on a pair of Jeans and a nice white blouse, brushed her hair and sprayed on a little perfume. She didn't want to look like she had just rolled out of bed to Rebecca or anyone else that would see her.

"Okay, I'm ready." Sherry said, walking out to her sitting room to see Claire was already ready. Claire seemed oddly in a rush but Sherry ignored it. "Alright then Sherry, lets get going then." she said, and with that the 2 walked out.

Claire had to use every fiber of self control in her body not to jump up and down screaming around Sherry, but she managed to keep a mask of indifference on her the whole ride there.

"How are you feeling?" Claire asked. "Like someone punched me in the stomach." she said frowning. Claire nodded, "Like Rebecca said, that's all normal, she's been digging up Umbrella files like crazy trying to find your dads research you know."

Sherry nodded, now slightly curious. "My dads research?" she asked. "He _did_ create G Sherry, he may of carried out his own experiments for all we know, its best she gather all the information that she can."

Sherry smiled slightly, the thought of maybe reading something her dad wrote excited her a little. "Whatever Rebecca finds.. can i.. "

Claire smiled at her. "I've already asked can his research and files be handed over to you once Rebecca's finished."

"Thank you Claire." she said, her breathing now noticeably under control, to Claire's surprise. So Rebecca was right,_ she's not getting worked up over how hard the pregnancy is, its stress, the pregnancy is just magnifying it._

Claire pulled up in front of the DSO about 20 minutes later and the 2 got out of the car without a word. Claire allowed her self one smile, and nearly had a heart attack when she saw Sherry had caught her. "And why are you so happy?" she asked

Claire shrugged, now wearing her smile proudly. "I'm just happy your breathing isn't as heavy as before."

Sherry nodded and laughed. "Stupid things make you happy?" Claire lightly punched her on the arm. "Your health isn't stupid, idiot." she said laughing.

Sherry simply rolled her eyes and walked into the DSO.

"Sherry? can we head to the terminal? Rebecca said she'd be there all afternoon."

Sherry threw her a confused expression. "Why would Rebecca be in the DSO's terminal?"

Claire shrugged, putting on her own mask of confusion. "I have no idea, its what Rebecca messaged me though, so.. "

After a long few moments, Sherry nodded slowly and followed Claire. "Why would a medic be in a terminal?" Sherry whispered to herself.

"I have no idea." Claire replied, barely able to contain her smile.

_You're about to find out though!_

* * *

**Well, there you have it! Sorry it took me a while to get this done, school is a dummy, but i'm finished this Thursday, woop! Just got a week of exams first /cries**

**Hope you enjoyed it!**

**and i cannot wait to write Jake and Sherry's reunion next chapter, its one of about 4 upcoming chapters i've been ecstatic to write since i started this, so i hope you're looking forward to it too! **

**As usual, review if you enjoyed!**


	8. Chapter 8

Sherry yawned as her and Claire walked down the seemingly endless hallways of the DSO to get to the terminal.

"Claire, Rebecca wont be able to run any tests in the terminal, she doesn't have any of her normal equipment down there, right?" said Sherry, with the slightest hint of annoyance

_Shit, shes right!_ Claire thought. "Uh.. oh!" Claire suddenly had the perfect idea for it. "Right, Rebecca must of just forgotten, you get to her room and ill go get her!" Claire said, a little more cheerfully than was intended.

Sherry eyed her curiously. "Uh, okay, i'll see you in a few minutes then."

Claire had already jogged off down the hall and as soon as she was sure Sherry had turned to walk off. Claire allowed herself one excited squeal. _Shes going to be so excited!_

After maybe another 10 minutes of running down stairs and through halls, she came into the terminal, and to her surprise, there were quite a few agents gathered, and as soon as the door to the copter clicked open, the terminal erupted in applause and cheering for Jake as he strode onto the staircase, casually waving towards the group, Claire noticed the sling on his arm and frowned slightly, though her expression turned confused when she saw a small blue bag with a ribbon on it in his free hand.

Jake had actually made quite a good number of friends at the DSO through numerous ways, and when it was announced that he was MIA and presumed dead, most agents were obviously quite upset.

Though now he was back on American soil, safe and sound, mostly. Claire's heart skipped a beat when she saw Jake had caught sight of her. She felt tears in the back of her eyes and didn't attempt to hold them back - she was so overjoyed to see Jake that she didn't allow herself to hide it.

Jake shook hands with most of the people and thanked them all for such a warm round of applause, and when he reached Claire he wrapped his good arm around her and hugged her tight. "Hey Claire, i missed you." he said warmly.

"You missed _me_?!" she practically yelled, but it was more to attempt to control her tears that were now falling hard. "Geez Claire, whats with the sob fest?" he asked laughing.

Claire punched him on the good arm. "I missed you, you idiot!" Jake smiled, "I can tell." he said sarcastically.

Before she could ask Jake what the cute little bag was about, she caught sight of Leon who she hugged and likewise with her brother Chris. "Good job guys." she said to them, to which they smiled and nodded. "Jake's apart of our little family now, nobody gets left behind." said Leon.

And there it was, possibly the most kind thing he'd heard anyone say about him in a single sentence. _Family.._

"Jake! I've got a blondie upstairs that doesn't know you're even home, lets go!" Claire yelled. Jake nodded eagerly. "Yeah, lead the way, I'll catch up with you later guys."

Chris smirked, and gently pulled Jill into a hug, and Jill dragged Leon into it too, much to his annoyance, but still smiled. "We understand." said Jill.

They walked back inside the main building and as soon as the double doors were closed, Claire turned to Jake. "She's in Rebecca's office, there's some booster and pregnancy information we need to go over but i'll get Rebecca to pass everything on to you when ever." she smiled, and gave Jake one last hug.

"Thank you Claire, really.. i'll see you tomorrow." he smiled and kissed Claire's head, and just like that, he was running up the stairs and Claire had to laugh, as she had run just as frantically not 10 minutes ago.

As soon as Jake was out of Claire's view, he sprinted up the hall. He couldn't wait to see Sherry's cute face and hear her soft voice, and hold her close and tell her he wasn't ever going _anywhere_, and he really meant it this time.

Before he knew it, he was standing in front of a newly installed door which read Doctor Chambers. Jake swallowed a lump in his throat. _Why do i feel nervous all of a sudden? .. aw, fuck it._ and with that, he turned the door knob and pushed the door open.

* * *

Sherry sat on the make shift bed that she always lied on for Rebecca, but she felt particularly uncomfortable lying down today, so she just sat up, staring at the various posters around the room, rarely diverting her attention to the many cotton swabs and the few loose pens on Rebecca's desk.

"All i want to do is go home to bed." Sherry whined to herself. Sherry's back was extremely sore, and her stomach slightly ached. Though, today wasn't a bad day, thank god. No, on bad days, the pain would be so intense that Sherry wouldn't be able to talk - let alone get to the DSO for Rebecca to check on her.

For a minute. Sherry contemplated being rather sneaky and raiding Rebecca's desk for a possible lollipop until the temptation got to be too much. Sherry hopped up from the bed and opened up the top drawer on the left-hand side where she always saw Rebecca pull them out to give Sherry a quick dose of sugar, or to have one herself, bit when she opened the drawer, she froze

A file with the name "W. Birkin" was placed in the drawer. Sherry gasped softly and leaned down to pick it up - which was quite painful, when she heard the rattle of the door handle, and quickly shut the drawer and walked towards the bed, staying focused on the bed's plain blue sheets in order to avoid an awkward stare off with Rebecca.

"I-I'm sorry i was-"

"Rebecca's not in, so I'll be your husband for this evening." said Jake from in front of her.

Sherry's eyes bulged and she instantly felt the beating of her heart nearly double in speed.

"J... Jake?" she whispered in disbelief

She slowly turned around to see her husband, with an arm in a sling and a bashful smile, and she was instantly at a lose for words. She stared at his very being with amazement, and wasn't sure what to do, all she wanted to do was cuddle against his chest and cry.

Sherry gasped, _Its him, its really him _she screamed in her head, and she instantly ran over to her husband and captured him in a tight hug. Jake hissed from the pain that surged through his shoulder, but when he felt Sherry pull away, it hurt him even more. He had been gone for so long that he didn't want to let Sherry go for a second, he wanted them to stay like that forever.

Suddenly, he had a soft sob from Sherry, her head was suddenly buried in his chest, and he felt her shake violently.

"Hey Supergirl." he whispered in her ear, attempting to comfort her, but she just sobbed all the more - though Jake knew it was from relief rather than sadness.

"Oh my god Jake.. you don't know how much I've missed you." Sherry gasped out between sobs, though her words were muffled because she refused to pull her head away from his chest.

Jake simply stroked her hair and smiled. "I missed you so much Misses Muller, god that feels good to say again." he said with a laugh, which Sherry laughed at too. Sherry wiped away her tears and Jake saw her smile for the first time in months, and to hear her laugh was enough to make him want to hold her head against his chest and keep her there, but the pain in his shoulder was too immense.

Jake grunted in pain and Sherry backed off, and stared at his sling. "Wha.. what happened?" Jake shrugged and smirked. "They'll let any old asshole carry a gun these days, lucky shot."

Sherry gasped. "You got shot?" she asked, her words heavy with worry. Jake thought he saw a tear fall from Sherry's eyes and instantly laughed at the very notion of her worry. "Hey hey, relax!"

"Jake i.. i thought you were dead, i had nightmares.. "

Jake bit his lip. "Did you have nightmares while i was gone?"

"Yeah.. "

"Are you tired now?" asked Jake, now the one worried.

Sherry nodded, "Why don't we just go home Jake?" she asked, sounding exhausted. _Home.. _

"Sherry baby, that's all i want to do right now." he said, taking hold of Sherry's hand and kissing it gently. She blushed at the contact and Jake realized i that moment, how stupid he was for thinking he'd ever leave his Supergirl.

Jake had Sherry in his arms the hold time, and for the time time Sherry pulled away from him, and he gasped slightly upon seeing the clear baby bump on Sherry's stomach. "What.. but its only been-"

"Rebecca thinks the G-Virus is speeding up the pregnancy."

Jake bit his lip, feeling slightly nervous. "So uh.. whats the ETA now?"

Sherry shrugged. "Rebecca is still working out a timeline apparently."

Jake nodded and turned towards the door, and felt his foot hit something in the process. Jake looked down to see the blue bag with a bow on it, he'd dropped it upon entering to hold Sherry, _thank god i didn't forget it._

"Oh Right, here." Jake said, sheepishly handing over the bag to the curious Sherry. "Hmm? whats this?" she asked taking the bag and reaching inside.

"Just something." Jake said, shrugging. Sherry felt cotton and assumed Jake had bought her perhaps a new shirt or scarf, until she picked it up, and saw it was a plain white onsie for a baby. Sherry blushed deeply and smiled. "Oh Jake, its so cute." Sherry said, trying to stop herself from crying, and this time, actually stopping herself.

"Sherry.. you know, i just wanted to tell you that I'm ready for this - to have a baby with you, and i'm not going anywhere." Jake said, looking very serious. Sherry nodded slowly. "I.. i know you've always been here, you said you'd never leave me, and you never have."

Jake thought for a moment._ Should i tell her about what i was planning on doing? she deserves the truth, don't bullshit her, anyone but her._

"Yeah, I've always been here Sherry."

_You're a fucking coward._

"Jake?" Sherry asked sweetly, smiling at him, wiping away her tears. Jake gently kissed her forehead and stroked her cheek, rubbing away a tear she missed. "Yeah Supergirl?"

Sherry couldn't help but laugh from pure relief that he was okay, and that they were about to go home. She had wanted to kiss him so badly from the moment he walked in, but missed her chance when she heard the door's handle rattle.

Both Sherry and Jake tensed slightly, but when Rebecca Chambers walked in, they both relaxed.

"Jake?" Rebecca asked in disbelief. Jake simply smirked and nodded towards her. "Hey Rebecca." _I guess when ever is now._

"Oh my god you're alive!" Rebecca practically shouted, and ran over and hugged him. Sherry caught sight of how Jake tensed from the pain in his shoulder for the second time in the span of 10 minutes, and could only laugh at how he rolled his eyes and hugged Rebecca back with a smile.

"Hey, i missed you too Rebecca." Jake said, gently patting her on the back. "So whats the status on Sherrbert over there?" Jake laughed at how Sherry scoffed at the name.

Rebecca nodded, "Of course, I've been keeping records of Sherry over the past 2 months and i have some new information for you too." she said, walking over to her desk and sitting, and Sherry and Jake followed suit, sitting at the opposite side, as they'd done about 2 months ago.

"Okay, first thing's first - Sherry is coming along well. For now, shes in the best possible health i can have her in." she said, analyzing a folder and with messily organised papers and a few pictures that Jake couldn't get a good look at.

"She has been sleep deprived which I've been quite worried about, but it shouldn't be a problem for her anymore, nightmares and such." Rebecca said, focusing on the files, though Jake balled his hands into fists. _Damn it, I'm sorry Sherry.._

"As well as that, Sherry's boosters have changed quite significantly - At the start of her pregnancy, she required weak boosters, which i dubbed BETA-N, but those were found to be useless about 3 weeks into using them, her body seemed to of gotten used to it and eventually became immune against the effects, so i bumped up the dosage with more a kick which seems to be working currently, which I've dubbed ALPHA-N.

I suspect Sherry will need strong boosters as the months progress, so i have 3 more beta serums I've been testing - so when we need them, i'll have it ready."

Jake nodded. _Okay so the boosters just need to be updated every few weeks, that's not so bad._

Rebecca opened a drawer and handed Jake a file which had 'S. Birkin; 1-2 M' on the front, and continued on. "I have a schedule laid out for Sherry - though the boosters purpose are to give Sherry energy, there are draw backs."

Jake flipped through the schedule, it just had a bunch of times and different jobs for Jake to do, though Jake raised his head to Rebecca, giving her his full attention. "Sherry has what we're calling 'bad days', where her dosage gives the appearance that it doesn't work, and makes her _extremely_ tired throughout the day, but i can assure you - if you've given her her dosage, she'll be fine."

Jake nodded slowly, taking in her every word. "Do i call you if shes having a bad day?"

"By now, Sherry knows what to expect - if anything is particularly bad on a given day, she'll let you know."

Sherry smiled at Jake and nodded, assuring him that she had that handled.

"Aside from that, i'll ask that you make sure that Sherry skips _no_ meals, and drinks plenty of water; these are _extremely_ important. I'd prefer if she drank no hot tea, but there's a brand of watered down iced tea she likes, so she's allowed to have that.

If I've left anything out, it should be in the file, feel free to take it on home and go over it. Other than that, i think that's all - any questions?"

Jake thought for a moment, but then said, "Yeah, Sherry said something about the pregnancy being sped up.. ?"

Rebecca swiveled in her desk chair and bent down to a bottom shelf behind her desk, and picked out a file, and pulled a single sheet from it, and spread the sheet flat out on the table. The couple leaned in, analyzing it - it seemed to be a messily scribbled timeline for Sherry. On it, there were 2 pictures of Sherry's stomach, and its development over the past 2 months, with sticky notes all over it.

"If the baby keeps developing the way he or she has been, i believe the due date could be late June/early July - though what usually happens is the baby develops rapidly at 3 months, and it slows down, from what i can see from the Umbrella trials anyway, but i honestly can't say for sure."

Jake's eyes searched the room for a calender of some sort, and managed to spot one in the corner. It had a red X on a Monday, and he saw that it was late November. Jake slowly peeled his gaze from the calender back to Rebecca and nodded. "Alright, that sounds fine."

"Oh, and one more thing." said Rebecca, "Given tomorrow isn't a bad day for Sherry, can you two come into the more well-equipped medical bay at the BSAA headquarters around 4? I need to run some more tests on ALPHA-N and i think you might be far along enough for us to listen to the babies heartbeat and even see the little guy if all goes well."

Sherry smiled ever so slightly and nodded. "Of course." she said as nonchalantly as possible, but Jake - and probably Rebecca - could tell she was excited.

"Alright then, i'm sure that's everything i wanted to pass on - feel free to call of course if you want to know anything ever." Rebecca said with a smile, shaking both Jake and Sherry's hands.

"Thanks Rebecca." said Sherry, picking up the blue bag Jake had given here and stood up, and Jake followed suit.

"Its good to have you back Jake, Sherry should be less stressed now, and things should go much smoother." Rebecca said, giving them a slight wave, which Jake nodded at and Sherry waved back.

Jake opened the door for Sherry and she giggled. "My, so polite all of a sudden." she said, walking out and Jake following, gently shutting the door. "All of a sudden? i'm not _always_ an ass."

Sherry turned around and hugged Jake, squeezing him tight. "I've missed your voice." she said with a smile. Jake patted her head and held her hand, urging her to walk with him which she did. "I've missed yours more than you'd believe."

Sherry hummed with a smile and they walk through the long halls of the DSO, hand in hand. _smiling like idiots._ Jake thought. _Aw, who cares._

Jake simply held onto Sherry's hand all the more tighter and was just happy to have her back, beside him, walking out of _their_ work place, to _their_ home. Jake was nearly giddy with the thought of sleeping in his own comfy bed tonight.

_I don't care if she'll hate me when the kids born, this is where i need to be. I'm with who needs me._

* * *

"The old homestead hasn't changed a bit." Jake thought aloud, walking into his home for the first time in practically 2 months. Everything was how it always was - Clothes messily thrown in the hamper, less dishes piled up in the sink, but still a pile, a stack of novels on the sitting room's coffee table and Teabags messily thrown in the sink.

Though Jake did notice one particular difference - the smell of the apartment. Before Jake had officially moved in with Sherry, he remembered a distinct vanilla like smell that smelled divine, fresh, and welcoming, and gave the place more of a home-y feeling. Though, when Jake moved in, the fresh vanilla smell was forced to change with his own more musky smell of sweat and sometimes cologne - making it a faint vanilla smell with a manly edge to it, if even possible.

Though Jake had to admit, the strong Vanilla scent that hit him when he walked in was welcoming, refreshing, and a cute reminder of times gone by.

"You miss me baby?" Jake yelled to the apartment in an excited voice, which Sherry laughed at. "I think i speak for the apartment when i say; missed you, but not your sweaty work out clothes."

Jake shrugged and smiled. "Marriage means sacrifice Supergirl."

Sherry scoffed. "The sacrifice of hygiene and my sense of smell?"

Jake laughed. "God, its _that_ bad?"

"Yes!" Sherry giggled, gently pushing Jake's chest and shaking her head. "Good to see you're still a wise ass." she said, walking towards their bedroom, and Jake followed.

Pushing the door opened, Jake saw the room was quite dark. He guessed Sherry had the curtains closed because she was sleeping. The room was also quite messy, and the bed wasn't made. Jake chuckled at how messy it was, compared to how neat and tidy Sherry always was.

Sherry glared at him, "I've been exhausted, i don't have the energy to clean!"

Jake simply nodded and picked up clothes around the room, "Guess that's my responsibility now then?"

Sherry shrugged, "Maybe sometimes? when i'm too tired to manage it, it'd be nice to have help." she mumbled, taking the clothes from Jake and walking them out to the small wash room and sorting them in the hamper.

Jake leaned against the door frame in the washroom and nodded again. "I can do that, yeah." he said, handing her some wash powder and detergent hesitantly, mainly because he wasn't fully sure what exactly she needed.

"Thanks." she said, taking the 2 items and placing them on the shelf over the washing machine, and loading it up. Jake was watching her work very closely, because he knew it was only a matter of time before he had to do this.

"Why don't you just throw everything in there?" asked Jake, seeing how Sherry separated white clothes from colours.

Sherry giggled. "Cause if you throw them all in, colours will run." Jake shrugged, "Alright." honestly not very sure what that meant.

Sherry yawned, and slowly closed the door to the washing machine and looking up at the clock that hung on the wall in the washroom, and then leaned over the washing machine and stretched. Jake gently rubbed her back and kisses her cheek. "Go sleep, i'll finish this and make you something to eat, okay?"

Sherry smiled and kissed him on the lips. "I'd love that." she said, standing upright. "The clothes should be done in less than an hour, I've set a timer so just take them out and put them into the dryer for about 30 minutes, okay?"

"Take 'em out when i hear the beep, then put 'em into the dryer - easy." he said with a smirk.

Sherry giggled. "I can't wait to see how you manage to mess it up."

Jake frowned at her. "I won't, I'm not that much of an idiot."

Sherry gently patted him on the chest and walked into their kitchen and gave a small wave, "Good luck!" she said, before walking to their bedroom.

_So, nearly an hour of free time, time to catch up on tv and make dinner. _Jake walked back into the kitchen and turned on the tv, to see it was on CNN, he saw the word 'Bio-terrorism' and instantly scoffed, at this point he was sick of anything to do with bio-terrorism. Usually, he'd be quite interested in learning how the story was going, who was suspected, and where it was, but today he could honestly care less.

He changed the channel to a comedy channel he always watched, and searched the fridge for some ingredients. Something he missed sorely when he left was steak, and hoped to god they had some. Jake frowned when he saw none left in the fridge, and figured there would be a frozen solid steak or 2 in the freezer, and sighed. _Guess i'll have something else._

What Jake found in the fridge though was some left out minced beef and smirked. If he couldn't have Steak, Spaghetti Bolognese would suffice. Both Sherry and him liked it, so why not?

In all honesty, Jake wasn't fully sure how he'd make the sauce for the bolognese, Sherry made fantastic sauce and whenever they made Bolognese, that was Sherry's job - while Jake's job was to chop vegetables and cook the spaghetti.

Though, to Jake's surprise, as he rooted through the fridge, he found a jar of sauce. _That'll do._ he thought, picking it up and placing it on the counter. Jake filled a bowl with water, drizzled oil on a wok and finished chopping vegetables when he heard a soft "Jake." from their bedroom.

Jake walked down the hall and gently opened the door, "Yeah?" Sherry yawned and whispered, "Can i have a drink of water." Jake nodded and walked up the hall into their kitchen and filled a glass of water, and seeing his opportunity, put the mince on the heated walked and lazily tossed some pasta into the boiling water beside it, and walked back down the hall with the water.

"Whats that noise from the kitchen?" Sherry asked, sounding very tired. "Making Bolognese, that alright?" Sherry lazily nodded and sat up to take the water from Jake, and took a small slip. "Feeling okay?" Jake whispered, trying to be as quiet for Sherry as possible.

"I think i was more tired than i thought." she said, placing the water on her bedside table and collapsing on her pillow again. Jake tucked a piece of her hair behind her ear and kissed her nose. "Its alright, just sleep, I've got it all under control."

Sherry smiled slightly and pulled the covers up, "I'm so happy you're home." she whispered before falling asleep with a smile on her face. Jake smirked and stood up, pulling a second lighter blanket from under the bed and placing it over her duvet.

After a few minutes of gently stroking her hair, he smelt something burning, and was very confused. _What the hell is that?_ he thought, walking out to the kitchen.

His eyes widened upon seeing the mince on the wok was nearly black at the bottom. "Shit." he hissed, picking up a wooden spoon and tossing the mince on the wok vigorously, attempting to mix in the burnt mince with the more evenly cooked mince, and pouring a little more sauce than was intended over it, mixing it all in together. Jake nearly screamed upon realizing he had forgotten all of the vegetables, and threw them in over the sauce, and kept stirring.

The mixture still had a way to go and the spaghetti was nearly done, so Jake just kept tossing and turning the mince mixture. Suddenly, Jake heard a soft beep from the washroom and dropped the wooden spoon on the counter to fetch the clothes.

"Okay so just put all this shit into the dryer, easy." he said confidently. He opened the door to the washing machine and to his surprise, all the clothes and water flew out onto the floor. "Shit shit shit!" he cursed, mentally slapping himself for not allowing the machine to drain off the water. Jake just picked up the soaking clothes and stuffed them into the dryer, and was in awe of all the settings on the machine

"Okay so.. 30 minutes?" he said hesitantly, turning the dial to 40 minutes, and smelt the familiar burning smell again. "Oh for.. " he nearly yelled, but stopped himself so Sherry wouldn't realize he was, in fact, messing up.

Jake ignored the huge puddle of water that was now covering the small washrooms floor and ran out to take the burning mince off the stove and placed it on a cloth on the counter. He noticed the spaghetti was done, and sighed. _At least the spaghetti is perfectly cooked._

Jake shut the door to the washroom in the hopes that it would hide the mess, long enough for the 2 to eat dinner, and for Sherry to hopefully either return to bed, or take a bath, and give time to Jake to clean up the mess. Jake put salt and pepper on the table, and placed 2 plates on the table, and filled 2 glasses of water. Maybe if he set the table, and made it look as good as possible, that would overwrite the burnt dinner?

Jake was draining the pasta when he felt 2 arms wrap around him and a warm kiss placed on his upper back, Jake always smiled when he felt her kiss him there because it reminded him just how short she was.

"Smells.. burnt." Sherry said, laughing. Jake placed a portion of spaghetti on both plates and shook his head. "On my mission, we were served burnt spaghetti, i guess i warmed to the taste." he said. _What a lie._

"I can't say i love burnt food." she said with a giggle, and spread some bolognese over the 2 plates. Jake picked up the 2 plates and Sherry came over with a 2 forks and knives.

Jake shrugged and picked up his fork, "Bon appetité."

Sherry laughed and wrapped some spaghetti around her fork and picked up some bolognese, and hesitantly placed it in her mouth. To her surprise, the burnt mince actually gave the sauce a nice edge which Sherry loved. "Wow, this isn't half bad." said Sherry, eating it with a smile on her face. Jake smiled triumphantly and took his first bite, and cringed at the taste. _God, it tastes like charcoal and vegetables._

"Yeah, not bad huh?" he said, trying to hide his disgusted face. "Not bad." Sherry agreed.

"See? i didn't mess up." Jake boasted, but caught Sherry's shocked face looking passed him. "What the hell.. ?" she whispered, looking passed him. Jake turned around to see she was looking at the washrooms closed door, and saw that the water was leaked out under the door.

Jake cringed, and heard Sherry jump out of her chair and open the door, to see the floor completely covered in water. Sherry groaned. "Jake!" she whined, stepping into the soaked washroom. "Jake, the carpets completely soaked!" she said, picking up a drenched blue carpet that was in front of the washing machine.

Jake gritted his teeth. "I was gonna clean it up." he mumbled.

Sherry sighed and shook her head, and to his surprise, he saw her laugh. "I made that mistake too my first time - i opened the door before the water drained out." she said, looking at him with a bemused expression.

Jake was surprised she wasn't shouting at him - not that she usually did, but if she did Jake would fully understand. "So.. you're not mad?"

"Mistakes teach us better than anything, now you know for next time." she said with a sigh, and walked to the bathroom and pulled out a mop.

Jake jumped up and took it from her, "Relax, i got it."

Sherry laughed, "Just don't mess it up!" she said with a yawn and stretching.

"Hey, give me _some_ credit." he said, sounding quite wounded by Sherry's laughing.

Sherry simply hugged him as he filled a bucket of water. "Yeah, i'm definitely glad you're back, wise ass."

Jake scoffed and rolled his eyes smiling. "I'm glad to be back." he said, his tone heavy with sarcasm.

Though, they both knew that there words were 100% sincere.

* * *

**Sorry this chapter took so long to get out, i finished my exams Thursday and I've been working on this ever since! i wanted to make this chapter i bit longer so i could kind of get the reunion finished a long with a little extra hehe! next we have Sherry and Jake's first official doctors visit to check on the babies progress, that'll be fun to write~ Jake also has a bit of a surprise planned for after, so i can't wait to write that!**

**Hope you liked this chapter, thanks for reading! and review if you have time and feel the chapter is worth it ;v;**


	9. Chapter 9

"Sherry, are you awake?" Jake asked

Sherry nodded and slowly peeled her eyes open. She felt a little run down but that was only because she was only really out of bed about 20 minutes, and wasn't fully awake.

Jake was driving Sherry to get her first Sonogram (Rebecca had said she wanted to take Sherry in for about 4, to keep a close monitor on the babies development, and see if they could pin down a more accurate due date.) and, despite her tired appearance, Sherry knew today wasn't a bad day. She would of known from the moment she woke up if it was going to be one of those days.

Unfortunately, Sherry was banned from drinking Coffee or Tea so she couldn't rely on either in the mornings to wake her up, so she had to depend on a morning shower. Though, Sherry had slept in and - well, Jake _always_ slept in - so she had no time to shower that morning, so Sherry felt she could easily fall back asleep.

Sherry let her hot head rest against the refreshingly cold window of the car and was ready to fall back asleep when she suddenly felt a warm hand on top of hers, and jolted awake once again.

"Come on Sherry, stay awake." Jake said, gently gripping her hand then placing it back on the steering wheel once again. "Who knew you were so useless in the mornings without your coffee." he joked, keeping his eyes on the road but occasionally glancing at her to make sure she wasn't going to fall asleep.

"I'm not used to going cold turkey, it sucks." she confessed, with a bit more strength in her voice.

"Is it horrible?" Jake asked, turning the car into the BSAA's car park.

Sherry shrugged, "Sure, i miss having a cup of coffee or tea in the morning-"

"No i mean like, the pregnancy in general, and all the shit you have to give up, is it horrible?" he repeated, looking annoyed at the lack of free parking spaces, but Sherry could tell it wasn't entirely over that.

Sherry was taken aback. She hadn't really considered the pregnancy as something that was horrible. Sure, it had its downsides, and she hated feeling helpless and exhausted during bad days - but in all honesty, she had always wanted children, and she knew if she put up with the minor inconveniences in the mean time, the reward would be more than worth it.

"No, not at all." she said confidently. "Well i mean.. aspects of it can suck, but what we get at the end of it will make all the bad things worth it, you'll see." she smiled reassuringly at him, but he wasn't entirely convinced.

Jake spotted a space and parked, rather happy he located a space relatively close to the main building so Sherry wouldn't have long to walk.

"You know i'm here right? i'll try and make all this shit easier on you.. you know, if i can." Jake said, slightly nervous. Sherry smiled none the less. Jake had been telling Sherry over and over that he was there for her, but why was he trying so hard to convince her? She already knew he was there for her, and she knew he wasn't going anywhere. _Maybe he just really wants me to feel safe and secure._ Sherry blushed at the thought.

Before either hopped out of the car, Sherry unfastened her seat belt and leaned over to kiss Jake on the cheek. "You've always been there Jake, i know." she whispered, and was the first to get out of the car.

_You're a fucking coward Jake, are you ever going to tell her the truth? _He abruptly shook the guilt-ridden question and got out of the car, catching up to Sherry with ease and gently holding her by her waist, keeping her close to him, which she smiled at him for.

As they approached the door together, they caught sight of a cheerful Rebecca waving the two down. "Good, you're here." she said with a smile as the two strode into the reception. Sherry secretly envied her cheerful mood and wished she could be as bright, but she felt so asleep that even her smile was slightly forced.

"Sorry were a little late, first night back in a while." Jake chuckled, hoping Rebecca would understand. She smiled and nodded, even letting out a soft giggle at him, "I understand Jake, its no problem at all. Are you two ready then?" she asked, gesturing the two to follow her down the hall, and the two followed.

While Jake had been at the BSAA's base numerous times over missions and briefings, Sherry hadn't ever - there was never any need for her to. Jake's missions usually required him to work with groups while Sherry - since the incident in China - had gone into less high-profile cases that only ever required she go by herself. She didn't like having to deal with the mediocre jobs but Jake had insisted on it, and Sherry never could say no to him.

They eventually came to a the medical ward, and Sherry inwardly cringed when she saw a sign reading 'Special Patients' over the door. Jake caught Sherry's ever-so-subtle reaction and gently pulled her closer, silently reassuring her that everything was alright, to which she smiled and landed a soft kiss on his cheek while Rebecca fiddled with a key in the door to the ward.

Eventually, she got it open and flicked on the lights. The first thing that struck Sherry wasn't the equipment they'd be using to do the Sonogram - which was pretty big and bang in the center of the room - it was the over whelming smell of chemicals that drenched the room.

Sherry had found she was extremely sensitive to a select few smells - so far, only found vinegar and fish to be triggers - but found the chemical smell of the ward to be a new contender.

Sherry groaned slightly and pinched her nose, "I feel like i'm gonna throw up." she whispered to Jake, glancing at Rebecca who was going through a laptop bag near a bare looking desk in the ward.

"From what?" Jake whispered back, looking at her with concern.

"That smell, its disgusting." she said, beginning to feel the sick feeling dying down, but not completely going away.

Jake shrugged, "It's not even that bad."

"I guess its just me then." said Sherry, walked over to Rebecca who had taken a small file from her laptop bag and had been shuffling the papers inside of it for quite sometime.

"Okay then, George offered me the use of this room for a couple hours in exchange for him to be allowed to come and view your medical files and see the sonogram today - though of course, if any of that is a problem, i can tell him that he doesn't have your permission Sherry." Rebecca stated, standing up from her seat and turning on the machinery needed for Sherry's Sonogram.

"Um.. " Sherry mumbled, not quite sure how to feel about a doctor she'd only ever heard of seeing her first Sonogram, and reading her medical history to boot. "Does he.. "

"Know about the G-Virus? yes, he knew your dad for a short period while he had a part time job at the Raccoon General Hospital, and once i told him that you were his daughter, he was quite eager to learn all about William's, and i quote, 'little princess'."

Sherry blushed deeply at the name, she hadn't heard that particular nickname in years. William had taken to calling her that after she had proclaimed she was going to grow up to be Cinderella, and Annette had even grown to use the nickname at times.

Hearing the name brought back fond memories and Sherry had to struggle to stop herself from tearing up from the memory. Her pregnancy hormones made it quite hard because her emotions were usually all over the place, and usually if she even thought about crying, she'd instantly start balling, but managed to hold them back.

"My parents were the only ones who called me that - Dad obviously liked Dr. Hamilton enough to tell him that." said Sherry smiling, looking off into the distance. Eventually though, she met Rebecca's stare and nodded, "Alright.. he can do whatever he wants then." she said, still feeling a little nervous about allowed him in, but not as nervous as before.

Rebecca nodded and picked up her phone, and left George a short message. Jake had been quiet for sometime and glanced over to Sherry as Rebecca finished up her message. "Are you okay?" he asked, going back into their private whispering mode.

"I'm fine, why?" she asked, keeping a wide grin on her face.

"I know its not easy when your parents are brought up.. you sure you're okay?" he asked, taking hold on her hand and rubbing her wedding ring with his thumb.

Sherry nodded and brought her and his hand up to her both and kissed his thumb gently. "As long as i have you caring so much about me, i'm fine." she said confidently.

Jake gave a fast nod and gently let go of her hand as he heard Rebecca end the message and stand up abruptly from her chair.

"I need to dig out your files from my badly organised bag, could you hop up on the operating table for me Sherry? i won't be too long." she said, emptying the contents of her laptop bag onto the table; about 7 folders fell out and the odd loose page.

Sherry nodded and walked over to the table, not noticing how she had Jake's hand in a very tight grip. Sherry hadn't been to a medical ward since she was in government custody, and honestly, she wanted it to stay like that. Rebecca's less intimidating and more welcoming medical ward that she was free to use at the DSO was the only Doctors office she had been to ever since she was 18. Though, walking into this more _official_ ward, she felt horrible memories rushing back to her.

She made a decent attempt at ignoring those memories thus far, but seeing the operating table made her remember a time when she was 15. A particularly nasty researcher was forced to handcuff one of her hands to the tables hand rails so he could test the regrowth of limbs by cutting of a piece of Sherry's finger off. He had told Sherry 'This might not work' and that was enough for her to shake her head furiously and refuse to co-operate.

The man was sadistic. Because of Sherry's screams of protest, he had taken his time cutting off the piece of Sherry's index finger, and Sherry could still feel the fresh sting of the knife on her finger. It grew back thankfully, but it had taken nearly 3 months. The regrowth of limbs trial ended as soon as they'd concluded that it'd take more than a year or so for something bigger like a hand to grow back.

Sherry eventually let up on the vice grip she had, wanting to avoid Jake worrying anymore so about her than he already was, and shakily sat down on the table. Jake gently kissed her on the forehead, figuring she was nervous about the Sonogram and gently rubbed her back. "Don't worry Sherry, i'm here." he whispered in her ear.

Sherry nodded, flashing him a smile, which he returned - but he knew that smile of Sherry's all too well. It was a smile that said _I'm fine, except i'm not._ but when Jake heard the door to the ward open and a man walk in, Jake lost his train of thought. _She's just nervous, it'll be over soon and then she'll be fine._

"Good morning Dr. Hamilton." Rebecca said, shaking George's hand and flashing him a bright smile. George smiled back and gave her hand a quick shake before letting go and taking the files Rebecca held out to him. "And to you Dr. Chambers, are these the files on Miss Birkin?" he asked, flipping open the file.

"Yes sir, everything we know so far." she said confidently.

George stared at the files contents for a good 10 minutes before snapping it shut and smiling toward Sherry and Jake. "Ah, Miss Birkin - or should i say Mrs. Muller, congratulations." he beamed, shaking both Sherry and Jake's hands before checking the machines behind Sherry.

"Thank you." Sherry mumbled back, with a sheepish smile. The man seemed relatively nice, so Sherry tried not to seem too distant, but she always put up that front around strangers. A habit she'd had trouble dropping.

"You still look like the little princess from your fathers pictures, i'm not surprised though." he said with a laugh, "Did Rebecca give it to you yet?" he asked, smiling at Sherry

"The.. what?" Sherry asked, confused by what he even meant.

George slowly turned his head over to Rebecca who was smiling nervously. "Rebecca?" George asked the uncomfortable looking Rebecca.

Rebecca laughed nervously and shrugged, "I was going to surprise Sherry with it but i guess there's no time like the present!" and with that, she reached for a certain file from her messy pile, and straight away Sherry read the writing on the front as 'W. Birkin' _That's the file i saw yesterday._

Sherry nearly jumped up to snatch the folder because she could hardly believe George really had something that Sherry had wanted for years, a real photo of her dad and maybe ever her mom. Sure, she had the photos inside her locket, but she had always wanted more pictures.

Once Rebecca handed the file over to Sherry, she could see her hands were shaking and she could feel tears in her eyes, and it took for a moment to work up the courage to open the file. After a long few moments, she slowly opened the file.

She felt Jake's arm wrap around her and give her a reassuring squeeze, but her tears began to blur her vision and fall when she saw the warm smile inside the file.

It was a picture that had been taken inside his office at the Umbrella laboratories in Raccoon. He was in his white lab coat and Sherry was by his side in a blue shirt and white skirt with a cute blue hair band in her hair. He had a smiling Sherry on his knee while he looked as if he had just finished laughing.

Her father looked exactly how she remembered him - not as the "mass murderer" that the newspaper portrayed him as, but as the loving and kind father he had _always_ been to her. Sherry still remembered hearing "The catalyst to the worlds worst bio-terrorism disaster." on the news and crying about how horrible it felt to hear her kind father being slandered as a murderer.

"You look so cute." Jake whispered in her ear, which snapped her out of her daze. Sherry smiled and surprisingly, there were no more tears. In fact, Sherry now felt very happy she could show Jake a better picture of William.

"Forget me, look at dad! that was the one and only time i was in the Umbrella laboratories, well, aside from the day of the outbreak, we had to take that picture for security, i can't believe he kept it.. " Sherry said, smiling like an idiot at the picture.

"Of course he did, look how cute you are." he said, gently planting a kiss on her cheek. Sherry couldn't help but wear her wide grin as she looked up to George and Rebecca, who seemed quite pleased with her reaction.

"How did you.. ?" Sherry began, still smiling at the picture she held.

George cleared his throat and chuckled softly at her amazement. "William liked to hang pictures of you and Annette in an old ambulance we had to share back in the days he needed the extra cash, he drove a lot of the patients we picked up to the bring of insanity when talking about you." he said, now laughing at the memory.

Sherry blushed and looked back down at the photo, "Sounds like him.. " she mumbled, smiling back at her father in the picture.

Rebecca cleared her throat to gain the attention of everyone and spoke up, "The machines are ready then, are you ready Sherry?" Rebecca asked

Sherry handed the file and photo to Jake and nodded, now with a bright and cheerful smile that had been absent all day, and both Jake and Rebecca were very happy to see it.

"I'm ready!" she happily beamed.

* * *

"We've got 2 special pictures now!" Sherry chirped, switching her attention back and forth between the photo of her father and the the photo of her Sonogram (that Jake could barely make out, but pretended to be as excited as Sherry for the sake of avoiding a possible fight at Jake's 'lack of excitement') "What did you think of doctor Hamilton by the way?" she continued.

Jake shrugged, "He seems.. alright."

"That sounded sincere." Sherry replied, now eyeing Jake curiously over his seeming suspicion

"I dunno.. " Jake shrugged. "The guy just seems.. weirdly interested in you, like he knew so much about you before he even met you." he finished.

Sherry raised an eyebrow and tidied the photos into her hand bag. "He worked with my dad who apparently never shut up about me, and he needs to be interested - hes going to be working with Rebecca to help me with the pregnancy!" she replied with an edge in her tone.

Jake clenched his jaw. _Just stop._

"Forget it, its just me then." he finished, and noticed how Sherry let her forehead rest against the window with a less than impressed face. He quickly changed the subject, in case Sherry may decide to add to what was said, "So i was hoping we could go out tomorrow."

Sherry's head snapped over so she could see Jake. "Go out?" she asked.

"Yeah, maybe go out to the park for the afternoon, get some lunch at a café, something like that."

Sherry smiled at the idea, and nodded slowly. "I'd really like that." she said, and when she turned her head back to look out the window, she noticed they'd arrived in the apartment car park.

Jake stopped the car and as Sherry clicked the button that undid her seat belt, she heard her car door open and looked over to see a smiling Jake holding out his hand for her. "Come on Supergirl." he murmured to her in a sweet voice that made Sherry shiver.

Sherry slowly gave him her and and he gently pulled her out of the car, kissing her and soon as she was standing upright which made Sherry giggle all the more.

"So cute." she stated, giggling at his behavior, and the 2 walked hand in hand inside to their apartment.

Around 8 o clock, when Sherry excused herself from dinner to sleep for the night, Jake made a few calls to a few different people, setting up what he was calling his and Sherry's 'date' for tomorrow.

Though what Sherry didn't know was it was probably going to be one of the most expensive dates they would ever have in there lives, and the most likely wouldn't even have time to get dinner.

"Alright, that sounds fine, we'll see you tomorrow then." Jake said to a woman on the other end of the phone before hanging up.

As he walked into the bedroom he noticed Sherry was awake and reading. He peeled off his shirt and threw it on the ground, sat on the bed and leaned down to untie his combat boots.

"What are you reading?" he asked, kicking off the boots and unzipping his pants.

"A book on pregnancy that Jill gave me, its really boring though." she moaned, not lifting her gaze from the page she was on.

Jake threw on an old shirt that was freshly washed in there wardrobe and climbed into bed next to Sherry, wrapped his left arm around her shoulder and pulling her into his chest.

Jake picked up a bookmark and placed it inside the book, and before Sherry could protest, he closed the book and placed it on Sherry's bedside table.

"I can tell you how it ends?" Jake suggested to a bemused looking Sherry.

"The girl has a baby." he deadpanned.

Sherry nudged Jake quite hard into the chest which Jake only laughed at, and squeezed her so close, that Sherry had no space to breathe let alone retaliate.

"Jaaake!" Sherry whined. Jake simply chuckled and let her go, but still keeping his left arm wound quite tight around her waist, gently stroking the baby bump on her stomach.

Sherry hummed with approval at the nice feeling and cuddled closer to Jake's chest. He used his freehand to brush back a strand of hair from her face and kissed her forehead gently.

"So, do you regret not asking Rebecca for the gender yet?" he whispered into her head.

Sherry smiled and shook her head, "We want to be surprised Jake."

Jake rolled his eyes and kisses her forehead again, and kept his lips pressed there for quite sometime, leaving a steady stream of warm breaths against Sherry's noise and mouth, which she loved (and secretly hoped Jake wouldn't stop anytime soon.)

After a long few moments of lying together so close up against each other, that they could hear each others soft breathing, Sherry broke the silence.

"Do you think we can do this?" Sherry whispered out of the darkness.

Jake kissed her on the lips this time, and stroked her cheek with one finger. "If we can take on a shit ton of monsters, zombies, BOWS, kidnappings, Derek Simmons and a Ustanak - a kid will be a walk in the park." he assured.

"What if i'm not a good mom.." she mumbled, to which Jake just pulled her closer and planted an array of kisses on her head.

"Supergirl, you'll be a great mom, i swear." he stated. "You're just nervous about it, but i'm here. It'll all be okay as long as we're together - but you just gotta promise me that you'll never leave, alright?" he said, flashing her a handsome grin.

Sherry laughed at the absurdity of what he'd said and shook her head. "Okay, you've got a deal." she replied, "I won't leave you, ever."

Jake nodded, "Then i'm afraid you're always going to be all mine, Mrs Muller."

"Oh no." Sherry sarcastically remarked, to which Jake just shut her up with a soft peck on her neck, which always made her gasp with delight.

Jake hummed with approval at her gasp and claimed her lips in one swift motion, licking her bottom lip, beckoning her to open her mouth. She eventually gave in and allowed him to deepen the kiss, and the stayed like that for quite sometime; doing nothing but tasting each other and occasionally breaking the kiss off to take a breathe, though to Jake's surprise - Sherry was the one to reclaim his lips each time they broke off.

"God, you really missed me like this, huh?" he asked, smirking at her desperation for him.

Sherry nodded eagerly and pulled up closer to him. "You have no idea." she groaned.

"Well then, i guess tonight's my lucky night." he hummed, gently climbing on top of her and peeling off her nightgown.

Sherry simply giggled in delight for what was to come and nodded at him as he took off his own shirt. "I guess it is,just don't get used to it, i'm usually exhausted when i go to bed."

"Then i'll take my rare opportunity right now." he hummed.

* * *

"Rebecca, are you still here?" George called out into the medical ward in the BSAA headquarters. After a few moments, George head shuffling way in the back where the kept medical records.

"In here." Rebecca yelled back.

George walked in to see Rebecca sitting in a dark room, at a desk that held the only source of light - a small lamp. The desk had scattered papers and from what George could see - there was no real order to them.

"Rebecca, its 11:37 pm, aren't you going home?" he asked.

"George, don't pretend you can't see it." she said, shoving the sonogram photo on her desk closer to him, and pinching the bridge of her nose in annoyance.

George shuffled in his place for a moment before picking up the picture and feigning interest. "Hmm?"

Rebecca stood up abruptly. "The babies developing way too fast, and Sherry's only in 2 months, at this rate, she'll be giving birth in about 4 months."

"At the earliest." George corrected.

"The point is! if Sherry gives birth then, there a high chance her body wont be able to survive it." she said hopelessly, slamming her fist down on the desk and sighing deeply.

"Then we will do what we can to prevent her from going into labor too earlY, if we can." George replied, shuffling the papers himself, attempting to make sense of the messy order.

"The keywords there were _if we can!_ Damn it George what if she died giving birth? then we- "

"Then we do everything we can to keep her alive Rebecca, that's all we _can_ do. You know as well as i do that either way, this pregnancy is pretty high risk, and the chance of Sherry dying once giving birth is substantially high as it stands."

Rebecca was about to reply when the words caught in her throat and she realized he was right, and she just couldn't bare to think about the probability of Sherry's death being high.

"No, i'll improve her boosters, i'll study G, i will_ not_ have Sherry go through this and not getting to live to see her own baby!" she practically yelled.

"That's all sunshine and rainbows Rebecca, but sooner or later you're going to have to accept the fact the odds are not in her favor. I am not trying to be a pessimist, i am just trying to be _realistic._"

"I-i know but.." Rebecca said hopelessly

George walked behind Rebecca and gave her shoulder a light squeeze.

"Look." he began softly, "I know you want her to live, i do too. I know she has had a tough life as well as Jake, and you just want her to have a family, but if she dies during the delivery stage- which is highly likely i'm afraid - you need to accept it as fate, and the inevitable."

"Then i'll just need to research different routes on how to approach this." she said determined.

George simply sighed. "You always were quite stubborn."

Rebecca smiled. "I'll take that as a compliment." and with that, Rebecca shot up from her seat and pulled a green laptop from her laptop bag, and immediately turned it on. After a few minutes, she began typing furiously, and the sound of the tap of the keys filled the room.

"Its good you want to try and keep Sherry alive during the delivery Rebecca, but in those crucial hours, there's an 80% mortality rate - that's what Umbrella's trials showed with nearly 17 Gorillas, and all of them _died._"

Rebecca clenched her jaw at how he emphasized the last word, but didn't allow it to keep her phased for too long - she needed every minute.

"Just.. don't get your hopes up thinking all the hardship can be avoided Rebecca.. some things are just.. unavoidable." and with that, he walked out of the ward, leaving Rebecca, a mini laptop, a dimly lit office and scattered papers to whatever she wanted to do.

"I'll save her George, i swear on my life that i'll save her." she silently promised to herself, to George, to Jake, to Sherry, and to everyone that cared about her.

She had to drastically lower that high mortality rate of Sherry's, and Rebecca was going to start by looking into Booster shots with more of a kick.

Rebecca left the office at 7:32 am that morning. She had stayed up the whole night researching how to infuse Sherry's boosters with a prototype medicine that a friend of hers had been working on, and if all went well in the trials, and all tested safe, Rebecca believed she held the key to getting Sherry in her best possible health for the remaining months, and maybe even keeping her alive during labor.

"I can only hope so." Rebecca whispered to herself.

* * *

**Sorry for this taking a while! Hope you liked the chapter, let me know with an R&R! you know, if you can!**


	10. Chapter 10

The following day, Jake had woken Sherry up early to go out on their date. She was beginning to hate these early mornings, but knowing that she was going out with Jake was enough to wake her up and keep her complaining at bay.

Besides, Jake had given her enough time to drink some watered-down Iced tea and a scone, so she was pretty ready for the day.

What she hadn't said to Jake was that today was a bad day, though when Jake wasn't looking, she had switched the labels on her normal boosters with her bad day boosters so Jake wouldn't notice. She didn't want to tell him, as - knowing him - he'd cancel the day and order Sherry to stay in bed, which she was swiftly getting sick of being confined to.

The usual occurrence was that Sherry would feel fine for maybe 2 hours after taking the shot, then she'd get awfully tired.

Because Sherry only really had about 2 hours to enjoy her date, she was quite anxious to get to_ where ever_ Jake was bringing her. He wouldn't tell her where though. In fact, Jake looked lost. They were driving through a quiet street with plenty of houses at each side, and Sherry was sure Jake was _most definitely_ lost.

"Are we there _yet?_" Sherry asked, for the 4th time.

"Uh.. i think." Jake said, sounding unsure and he threw a confused look at a GPS on his phone every so often. Sherry watched him, and saw how he read the numbers on each door extremely closely.

"Are we.. visiting someone?" she asked.

"Ohh, it was number _34_.." he mumbled to himself, looking at a house in the distance. "yeah, were here." he said, pulling up in front of the house.

Getting out of the car, Sherry could hear a dog in the distance barking, and saw kids down the street cycling down the paths. It was actually a really nice area, but Sherry was pretty sure she didn't know anybody here. _Maybe one of Jake's friends?_

"What do you think?" asked Jake, who was looking up at the house, analyzing all of its features.

Sherry looked up to see a fairly big house on top of a slightly raised hill, with a garage to the far right of it, which had a path that lead down to Jake and Sherry's car. It had a stone wall around it and fairly big black gates located to the far right where the path led up to the garage, then a smaller gate in the center that lead up to the entrance of the home.

The door was wooden but had stained glass at either side of it in red and blue, which Sherry had to admit, looked gorgeous. It had a porch in the front with a small sub-roof over it, held up with - from what Sherry could see - 4 white pillars. It had 2 stories and had 2 windows at the far right and left of the second floor, with a large window in the dead center. On the left side of the house, Sherry could also just barely make out a small alcove that had windows paneled all around it, showing off a dining table.

The front garden wasn't too big, though, judging from a large tree Sherry could see just barely visible from the street, the back garden must of more than made up for the fronts size.

Overall, the house was in a very friendly neighborhood and was pretty big, something that nearly even reminded her of her house back in Raccoon - though, that house was a little smaller, and had a large front garden.

"Its really nice actually, but who lives here?" she asked, unable to take her eyes away from the gorgeous and eye catching stained glass.

"Us if we want." he said with a chuckle.

Sherry threw Jake a rather confused look and walked up to the house with him. "What does that mean?"

Jake jerked his head to the right, motioning towards a 'For Sale' sign that Sherry had looked over, and blushed deeply.

"A-.. woah woah, we can't afford to just go buy a house like this Jake! Its huge and in a nice neighborhood, its probably way too expensive!" she argued.

"I like how you never asked about the money i got for the mission." he laughed and wrapped an arm around her, letting his hands rest on her stomach. "I got paid pretty well for it, by the way." he continued.

"But Jake i-"

Sherry was interrupted by the sound of the door opening and a brown haired woman stepping out and walking towards them.

"Ah, Mr and Mrs Muller! Jake i believe? we spoke on the phone last night?" she asked Jake, shaking both Sherry and Jake's hands. For some reason, she didn't look fazed by Jake's scar or slightly intimidating height - Sherry was silently thankful for that, people usually felt intimidated by it and were usually a little short with him as a result.

"Yeah that's me, and this is Sherry. Are you showing us around today?" he asked the upbeat looking woman.

"I sure am! My names Anna by the way." she happily beamed, readjusting some pages on a clip board she held tightly. "Are we ready then?" she asked, already turning her heel to walk up to the house.

Jake gave Sherry a quick wink and all she could do was shake her head and laugh it off. She was sure whatever Jake made wouldn't come close to buying a house like this, so she supposed it didn't hurt in looking.

Sherry gasped upon entering the home, walking into the spacious hall, with a stairs to her right and a chandelier hanging from the second floors roof. From what she saw, the room that's door as at the end of the stairs led into a sitting room, and from her left, it seemed empty.

Sherry was too busy trying to peak into the sitting room to notice how Jake watched her with a huge grin - he always loved seeing Sherry excited, it made his stomach feel like it had butterflies in it and gave him the urge to wrap his arms around her and never let go.

"So in here we have the kitchen, recently remodeled with the addition of the alcove." she said, walking into the kitchen, expecting them to follow.

Sherry was in a trance staring at the stairs and chandelier that she hadn't even heard her, and was jolted back to reality when she felt Jake wrap an arm around her waist and tow her to the kitchen, that's entrance was located just behind the stairs.

As they walked in, what hit Sherry immediately was the gorgeous palette of the kitchen - soft blue and cream.

The furnishing in the kitchen was very antique styled - like a farm house kitchen - which she had to admit, she loved. The sink had a wide window just above it, which gave a perfect view of the Garden which, which Sherry guessed, was very big. There was a large american fridge freezer directly behind the sink, and had a black-countered island between them with a chopping board section built into it, which Sherry internally squealed at, since her chopping board was _always_ missing when she needed it.

The kitchen also opened up to the mentioned Alcove, that was the kitchens main source of light as there were nothing but windows inside it. It had a large table located in it, that could easily seat 10 people. _Perfect for when Chris, Jill, Leon, Claire and the others visit.. if we got this house, anyway._

Sherry walked into the alcove, smiling at how there was plenty of room to move around, and the lovely view of the garden from it. She also spotted that just above the glass doorway into the alcove, there were high-up wine racks that were surprisingly - fully stocked with red and white wines.

When Sherry looked over to Jake though, he was looking in cabinets and testing how sturdy the shelves were, something Sherry couldn't help but giggle at. Jake glanced over to her, winking at her giggles. _So he wants sturdy cabinets in a home, good to know._

Meanwhile, Anna had leaned against the island and was shuffling through papers as the couple explored the finer details of the kitchen. Eventually, when Jake and Sherry had finished analyzing it, she led them into the sitting room.

It was separated from the kitchen by an arc way, and the couple found it was pretty spacious, and was the room that's entrance was located at the end of the stairs. It had a white marble fireplace, with a black widescreen located above it on the mantle. on the right side of the mantle piece, was a grand black piano that was wedged neatly between the fireplace and window that Sherry and Jake had seen from the street.

The large L shaped chocolate-coloured couch that was pushed against the wall looked incredibly comfortable, and had at least 7 large pillows littered around it. Feeling too shy to actually sit on it, she decided to go look at the beautiful piano. She lightly brushes her fingers on the exposed pianos when she heard a soft _Poomf _from behind her.

She turned around to see Jake had fallen on the couch, in between 2 fluffy pillows and smirked at Sherry's less than impressed face. He simply stretched on the couch getting comfortable on it, despite Sherry's clear anger. "The chimney was cleaned about 2 weeks ago, so you two wouldn't have to worry about that." she said as she wrote something on a page on her all important clip board, giggling at Jake's playful smile at Sherry, trying to get her to stop frowning at him.

"Its such a gorgeous house." said Sherry, still mesmerized by the beautiful piano. "How is this even for sale?" she asked

"Well, the family that lived here - Mr. Robinson and his wife and 3 daughters - moved at Washington DC as he got a job in a court up there about 4 weeks ago. All the furniture you see in the house also comes with the house as the Robinson's were unable to bring it with them."

Sherry nodded and internally sighed, knowing all the gorgeous furniture probably bumped up the price by a good bit. _Come on Sherry, this is just Jake wanting to look at houses with no actual concept of realism. You always knew this was way out of your league, price wise anyway, just nod along and pretend to be interested in buying._

Anna walked out into the hall that they had come into first, and lazily pointed towards the spare room across the hall. "In there was the girls playroom, and the family took all there toys with them, so its a spare room for now." Jake and Sherry nodded, neither making a move to see it, since the wide open door gave a good indication of its size.

Pointing towards the North-west of the hall, Sherry noticed about 3 doors leading to different rooms and 1 door with more stained glass that clearly led straight outside. "Behind that door is another spare room, as far as i know Mrs Robinson used it as an office, so there are a few bookshelves still in there. The other 2 doors lead to a small washroom and bathroom." she listed off, directing her attention to the stairs and hurriedly walking up steps as soon as she finished explaining.

Jake and Sherry followed her, both of them admiring the large hanging chandelier on the way up, and the magnificent sparkle off of the crystal. Even with the lights turned off, it still reflected the sunshine from outside in a gorgeous and eye-catching way. "Hey, if you don't get the place, we should buy one of those for the apartment.* mumbled Sherry with a smirk. Jake couldn't help but chuckle at her. "Sure, even though it'd probably cost more than rent for 4 months."

"Up here, there's the master bed room - complete with a bathroom suite - and 3 bedrooms, 1 with a bathroom."

_Wow, 3 bedrooms._ Sherry and Jake both nodded, following Anna as she led them to the left of the top of the stairs. Sherry saw that the door at the top of the stairs was the bathroom - as it had a cute little silver sign on the door which said so. Taking a sharp left, they passed 1 bedroom door and walked towards another at the end of the hall. Directly in front of Sherry on Jake was a huge window that went from the floor to the ceiling, and allowed light to poor into the hall, and gave the couple a lovely view of the neighborhood, and what looked like a town in the distance.

Walking through the last door in the hall, they stepped into a huge bedroom - they guessed it was the master.

On a raised piece of ground at the back of the room, was a king sized bed - though no matrice. In front of the bed and raised ground it was on, there were also 2 old looking chairs that sat facing a wall, though there wasn't anything imparticular it was facing. Sherry guessed it was facing a TV that the Robinson's had decided to take with them.

Anna walked over to the right side of the room, where there 2 doors. Opening the first, it revealed a spacious closet, complete with a small bench in the middle of it, and 2 full length mirrors. Sherry had to gasp at how big it was, and even squealed at the spot lights that illuminated the shoe racks and mirrors. Jake simply rolled his eyes at Sherry's excitement. "Women." he mumbled.

Sherry slapped him on the arm, which just made Jake chuckle. _Okay.. I have to admit the closet is selling the house to me single-handedly._

"The wardrobe is pretty nice huh?" Anna questioned, laughing at Sherry's clear excitement. Sherry eagerly nodded and ran into it, opening the closed doors of the few cabinets, internally thinking she could put her scarves, shirts and underwear at one side, and Jake's at the other.

Seeing how Sherry was obviously distracted, Anna directed Jake's attention to the second door, which was the bathroom suite.

He whistled at how big it was - and it was a lot bigger than the one back at Sherry's apartment. It had a toilet, 2 sinks in a black marble counter, with a large mirror over the two, _His_ and _Hers_ towels at either side, a spacious shower and a large bath with jets in the middle of it all, on a raised piece of floor.

"The bathroom lights are on a timer - after 5 during the winter and after 8 in the summer, the lights will automatically turn on when the door is opened, but there's a manual on how to disable all that - if that's what you want." she said, double checking what she had said was right with her clip boards notes.

Jake was looking at the spacious shower when he heard Sherry gasp behind him. "Oh my god, look at the size of this bathroom!" she couldn't help but giggle at how hopelessly she was falling in love with the house, and didn't have the heart to remind herself that they probably weren't going to get it. _Damn you Jake, showing me the perfect house, and its probably ridiculously overpriced! _

"Would you like to see the other bedrooms?" asked Anna, looking quite pleased with the couples reactions.

"Yeah! come on Jake!" Said Sherry, practically buzzing with excitement now to see the other rooms. "Geez, you really want this house, huh?" Jake asked, shaking his head with a smile at Sherry's attitude - it reminded him of a hyper 4 year old.

"Yeah, i really do." she said with a soft smile. _Too bad if we actually bought it, we'd be paying it off for the next 40 years._

"Shit." Jake mumbled, stumbling over a carpet in the bathroom, which Sherry laughed at. "See? you're excited too!"

"Why don't you go look at the bedrooms? i'll be there in a minute, i actually need to use the bathroom." he said with a chuckle.

Sherry scoffed. "Alright, i'll be in the room next door." she said, walking out of the room and making a beeline for the room next door.

Anna was about to step out of the bathroom but Jake caught her by the arm. "I was just trying to get her out, can we talk for a minute?"

Anna nodded at him. "Of course."

* * *

Sherry was happily walking in and out of rooms upstairs. The room next door to her possible bedroom had a window that gave a great view of the back garden, and was pretty well shaded by the large oak tree she had seen from the street. _A perfect nursery._ she mused

Walking into the bathroom, Sherry had to hum in approval at the large bath that could of easily accommodated 4 people, and the Shower that had a huge shower head hanging directly over the shower, rather than at an angle, much like the one in the master. _Now that's a shower i would jump out of bed in the mornings to get into._

Sherry was now very much in love with the house, and if it really did take 40 years to pay off, Sherry silently decided that that wouldn't be the worst thing. Walking further down the hall, she saw that the other 2 bedroom's were actually connected, being separated by a large closet and bathroom suit, that you could walk through either into the next room. A perfect room for siblings to share actually.

Guessing from the pink painted walls in one bedroom, and the purple painted walls in the other, it was previously occupied by the 2 girls of the previous family, and that the room Sherry had dubbed the nursery room was the 3rd girls bedroom.

Noticing how she was growing tired, and just a little impatient with waiting for Jake to get out of the bathroom - she walked out and back into the master bedroom.

"Jake, come on i-" Sherry was cut off when she realized the room was completely vacant, and felt a bit silly talking to herself.

Walking out of the room, trying to listen for any noise in the house, she heard voices downstairs - Anna's soft voice and Jake's more bold voice coming from the sitting room at the end of the stairs.

Walking down the stairs she heard them grow a little more quiet and when she walked in, she noticed Jake was reading over some papers.

Before she got the chance, Jake spoke up. "Sherry, do you want to put our names down for the house?" he asked.

Sherry took a few minutes to process Jake's words. "Put our names down?"

"There's a different couple looking at the house, and they've proposed $100,000."

Sherry nearly gasped at the price, and felt her heart sink. "And how much would we have to put down to match them?" asked Jake, looking quite determined.

"The Robinson's asking price is $110,000, so if you put down that much, the couple can either choose to go higher or it will be sold to you."

Jake nodded and looked back down to the papers, becoming quickly engrossed in whatever they said.

Meanwhile, Sherry felt like someone had just reached into her chest and ripped out her heart. The house was absolutely perfect and it was everything Sherry dreamed of in a house; It was in a great neighborhood, plenty of trees and flowers, families everywhere, little traffic, a huge back garden, spacious bedrooms, _a luxurious closet_ - it had everything she wanted and more than she needed.

"Okay, put our names down anyway.. we'll have to think about it and see what we work out mortgage and saving wise." said Sherry weakly, trying not to sound too disappointed in the price.

"Can i keep these?" Jake asked, holding up the papers he was reading, and Anna nodded at him. "Of course." Anna reached into her pocket and pulled out a small business card. "When you 2 reach a decision, please call me on that number. I'll keep your names on the list for the next 2 weeks, but if i don't hear back from you 2 by then, it'll have to be taken off, and the house will be sold." she said.

Jake turned over the card in his hand a few times and stuffed it into his pocket, and shook Anna's hand. "Thank you, we'll get back to you before then, and you have my number, let me know if there are any other changes." Sherry shuffled over to Anna and - mustering all of her energy - shook her hand and smiled. "Thank you so much for showing us around."

Anna bowed her head slightly. "Not a problem Mrs Muller! i wish you two luck with the house."

They both nodded and waved, walking out of the house, down the lane and hoping into the car. Sherry yawned, but Jake hadn't noticed. _Thank god._

"I think we can do this Sherry." Jake said, starting up the car and pulling away from the sidewalk.

"Jake.. its a lot of m-"

"Okay okay, how much do you have in savings?" Jake butted in.

Sherry glanced out the window, toting up the numbers in her head. "About 10,000 i think?" she said.

Jake nodded. "Okay, i have 34,000." he said with a smile. Sherry scoffed. "No you don't! i know for a fact that you-"

"Had a mission that lasted 2 months and i got paid generously for it, and was compensated for my arm." he said, wiggling the injured arm and smirking at her.

"Wow, you got that much?" she asked, in disbelief.

"Yeah, plus.. i sold moms house." he said, no longer looking at her, but rather focusing on the road.

The car was silent for a few minutes. Jake's mother had died a few months before she had even met him, and he had always told Sherry that once everything was sorted, he'd go back and live there. That was, until him and Sherry had completely fallen for each other, and Jake had surprisingly fallen in love with New York and Sherry's apartment.

"The house was worth 20,000, but the woman i spoke on the phone just had a baby and her husband died, so i gave it to her for 12,000, its.. its what mom would of wanted." he said a little quieter now. Sherry reached out and brushes her fingers over his injured arm, trying to silently reassure him that she was there and that he didn't have to be afraid to let it out.

"I sold my Harley Davidson too, plus a few spare parts for it, so that's another 18,000 on top of the 34,000 in savings."

_He loved that bike.._ Sherry nodded slowly, feeling the tension slowly melt away and get back to the point of money. "Okay.. so that's about 62,000 or so?"

Jake nodded. "We can just get a mortgage for the rest, and use our weekly paychecks for furniture, paint, and everything else we need."

Sherry smiled softly. "I guess its decided then, we're really doing this."

"We're growing up." said Jake, attempting to lighten the mood he knew he had tensed.

Sherry giggled. "I think we were growing up when we got married and i got pregnant."

Jake shrugged. "My point stands."

Sherry shook her head. "Men."

* * *

Jake had taken Sherry out to lunch in a Starbucks in the town that Sherry had seen from their - hopefully - new home. She had found that the residential neighborhood was called Cherrygrove Lane and that the town itself was called Riverview, which Sherry thought was the cutest thing ever.

Jake had ordered Sherry a bottle of water and a sandwich, while he ordered a black coffee for himself. She ate her sandwich in relative silence, though her thoughts were running wild. Sherry had taken a liking to repeating her hopeful address over and over in her head.

_Sherry and Jake Muller, 35 Cherrygrove Lane, Riverview, New York.. I don't think we'll do anything to the kitchen.. sitting room needs a new coat of paint, as do all the rooms upstairs. We need 2 new chairs for our bedroom, as well as a matrice, and some rugs- oh my gosh, we need so much stuff for the nursery! We don't even have a crib! what will we even paint the walls? maybe a soft pink and blue? then we can just buy all white furniture and-_

"Helloooo? you there Supergirl?" asked Jake, smirking at a day dreaming Sherry who had lost all interest in her half eaten sandwich.

"Huh?" asked Sherry, looking as if she was completely lost, but then snapped back into reality. "Oh. Hey." she said with a giggle. "Sorry, i'm distracted!"

Jake nodded and took out a few folded up papers from his pocket, and handed them to Sherry. "Those are some details on the house, it has WiFi, has a preschool near by, about an hours drive to the DSO and the neighborhood is majorly safe." he said

Sherry giggled. "It sounds too good to be true."

"Well fight for the house if we need to." he said, playfully winking.

"What, you'll go to the other couples house and threaten to beat them up if they get the house?" she said, laughing at how realistic that scene would be.

"Well, i meant metaphorically, but that'd work."

Sherry laughed and finished her sandwich.

Jake sipped on his coffee and looked around himself as Sherry finished up reading the details on the house, admiring how friendly everyone was, and how nice the town was, very lively and probably the perfect place to start a family.

"Hey Supergirl, why don't w-"

Jake was cut off by the ringing of his phone and flipped open the phones cover, seeing _Leon K calling.. _on the screen. Sliding his finger on the screen, he answered, putting it on loudspeaker but keeping the volume low, so only Sherry and Jake could hear.

_"Hey Jake, how did the house look?"_

"Fantastic, better than you made it out to be actually." Jake replied, smiling at how mildly surprised Sherry looked.

_"Awesome, how did Sherry like it?"_

"I loved it Leon! you should be a realtor!" she said, giggling at the phone.

Both Sherry and Jake heard chuckling on the other end of the phone from Leon. _"Maybe someday Sherry. So listen, i was wondering could i borrow Jake for the evening?"_

Sherry looked at Jake who seemed curious. "Whats up Leon?" Jake asked.

_"Its Tony's birthday tonight and he's having a few of the BSAA and DOS guys down to the regular bar down on Mulberry Avenue around 8 - mainly just the guys who go to the Gym, interested?"_

Sherry mildly recognized the name Tony - he had been to Sherry and Jake's apartment. He was much like Leon, always out on missions. He was quite polite to Sherry and Jake really liked him, but rarely saw him. It was with that, that Sherry decided that Jake should go.

Sherry smiled and nodded and Jake, giving him the go ahead and he smiled back. "Sure, i'll be there."

_"Alright, want me to pick you up?"_

"That'd be great."

"Alright Jake, i'll let you two go then, see you guys later."

"Bye Leon." Sherry said, smiling.

"Are you sure you don't mind?" Jake asked, putting his phone back into his pocket.

Sherry shook her head. "Not at all - i'm tired anyway."

Jake looked slightly cautious. "You are? whats wrong?"

Sherry attempted to laugh off his worry to ease him. "I'm just tired, that's all!"

Jake nodded and stood from there table. "Lets head home then, you should take a nap anyway."

Sherry rolled her eyes. "God, _all_ i do is lie in bed, the way you talk you'd swear i never sleep!"

Jake shrugged and held her by the waist as they walked out. "You need to get to rest, it's almost 6."

Sighing, Sherry guessed she wouldn't win the argument no matter what she did, so she decided to simply give up and allow Jake to guide her to the car.

* * *

"Alright Sherry i'm heading out." said Jake, poking his head into the bedroom, seeing Sherry was sitting up in bed, reading that parenting book that she apparently found boring.

Sherry nodded and blushed and him - seeing him wear a nice black dress shirt (with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows) and a nice pair of jeans was quite a rare occurrence indeed, but when it did happen, Sherry never could stop herself from blushing.

"Okay, have fun, and please have your phone on you so i can call if i need you." she said smiling, her blushing now fading.

Jake walked in and kissed her on the head. "I will, don't worry - i called Anna by the way, we've officially made our offer."

Sherry nearly jumped out of bed with excitement, but decided that enveloping Jake in a tight hug got her point across all the same. "Well get the mortgage stuff sorted out in the next few days, but for now we've made the offer."

"Great." she said, resting her forehead on Jake's shoulder, giggling from excitement. "Okay okay don't let me hold you up! go, go have fun!" she said with glee.

Jake nodded and kisses her once more on the head and walked out, leaving a very giddy Sherry behind.

_We just need to have the kid now, and me and Sherry will have everything._

Jake jogged down the steps and caught an elevator down to the ground floor. On the way down he received a text from Leon that simply said _"I'm outside."_

Reaching the ground floor, he spied Leon's Audi R8 and hopped in.

"Hey Leon, thanks for picking me up." he said, checking his phone was on and wasn't on silent.

"No problem, house hunting went well?" he asked

"Yeah, we put an offer on the house." he stated.

Leon looked mildly surprised. "Already? did you guys even look at other houses?"

Jake shrugged. "Sherry fell in love with the house, and i loved it too, so we just went for it."

Leon nodded, "Fair enough, if you guys need help with the house, let me know."

"If we get it." Jake said with a chuckle, "But yeah, we'll need help with getting it ready." he finished, as Leon pulled out and they sped towards the bar.

* * *

It was around 2 am when Sherry stumbled into the kitchen, feeling incredibly hot and just a little dizzy. She figured it was just one of those Bad day side affects, but her body was being particularly cruel to her tonight, keeping her up.

Feeling the occasional pinch in her stomach was enough to jolt her awake every time she fell asleep, but it wasn't enough for her to call Jake.

Though, what was a good reason to call him was for him to get a jar of peanut butter for her on the way home. Peanut butter had become one of those cravings that Sherry couldn't shake no matter what - that, and apple juice.

Not even considering the time it was, and that all shops were closed, Sherry decided to call Jake anyway.

Feeling the pinch in her stomach grow a little stronger, Sherry sighed at the pain and dialed Jake's number.

Sherry called him twice and didn't get through to him either time, so she decided she'd leave a message for him.

Jake's automated messaged played._ Hey this is Jake, you know what to do. _A sharp beep played straight after.

"Jake i told you to keep your phone on! anyway if you get this i- hnnn.. o-ow!" Sherry suddenly dropped the phone on the kitchen tiles, causing a loud bang, and Sherry whimpered loudly from the pinch in her stomach, doubling over and nearly falling onto the tiles, but instead just barely catching herself on the table. Sherry took in a sharp breath and let out a loud whimper, following by a few tears, barely able to control her crying from how harsh the pinch had evolved into.

Sherry heard the loud beep from her phone, signalling that it still worked and that her sobbing was probably sent in the message to Jake. Frantically gasping for breathe and lunging for her phone, she attempted to call him 3 more times but he never picked up.

Feeling like she was going to pass out from the pain that was quickly worsening, she dialed Claire's number. She felt her eyes closing, and knew she was about to pass out from the pain

_Claire, answer now! _she silently pleaded

"Hey Sherrbert! someones up late!" Claire giggled.

"C-clai.. " Sherry was gasping for breathe and she felt her phone slip from her hands and her vision go black. The pain was too much for her.

Before she fell full victim to the pain, she silently hoped Claire or Jake was on there way to help her, because she was afraid to think what'd happen if Claire and Jake both left her.

* * *

**I'm sorry this took a while to put up! i got a PM earlier asking would i please update this and that gave me motivation to work on this for a good 3 hours x'D **

**Hope this is okay! really happy i have the boring long description of the house and stuff over with, now we can focus on FUN THINGS~**

**Enjoy! thanks for all the reviews you guys give me, all the support through any and every way, you guys are my inspiration! **

**Reviews, as always, are appreciated!**


	11. Chapter 11

"Jake, are you coming back in?" asked Leon, practically giddy from the amount of drinks he had.

Jake was standing outside attempting to get a signal on his phone, but little did he know the bar he was at blocked phone reception in an attempt to discourage the use of phones inside. Jake just figured his phone was acting up, and even when he was outside of the bar, he was still technically in the blocked service zone.

"Jake, Sherry knows when you go out to the bar with the guys, you stay out late. Can we go back inside now?" Leon asked, throwing an arm around his friends shoulder, encouraging him back into the building.

Jake chuckled, now feeling the affects of the many drinks he had for the night, and allowed himself to be towed back into the bar by Leon.

They ended up having a great time that night, playing darts and drinking with friends. Jake had missed the feeling of just strictly being out with friends for a night and though he felt bad to say it, he never wanted the night to end.

Though he knew that around 4:30 am, it was about time to head home. Sherry would most likely understand that Jake had missed being out with friends, and spare him a long speech - not that she ever did when he stayed out with Leon or Chris - one of the many things she loved about her.

Jake and Leon had decided to leave Leon's car and walk to Jake's apartment for the night. Their spare room hadn't been turned into a nursery yet so he was sure Sherry wouldn't mind if Leon stayed for the night, she'd probably kiss Jake for it - she always loved having Leon around.

Once they had walked for about 10 minutes away from the bar, laughing and joking about the night, Jake's phone blasted out ringtone after ringtone, signalling missed calls and texts.

Both Jake and Leon stood still, feeling a sinking feeling from all the ringtones that beeped, and upon unlocking the screen, the screen read _8 missed calls, 2 voice mails_

"Whats going on Jake?" Leon asked nervously, now feeling 100% sober.

"Somethings.. wrong.. " Jake replied, checking his call log. "I have.. 6 missed calls from Sherry and 2 from Claire.. and 2 voice mails.."

"What do they say?" Leon asked

Jake held his phone between the 2 and played the messages. The first was from Sherry.

Jake rolled his eyes when he heard Sherry lecture him about not having his phone on but nearly had a head attack when he heard a loud crash and Sherry whimper in pain.

After a few moments of silence, Leon spoke up"Was that Sherry?"

Jake shook his head in disbelief and played the next message, this one from Claire. The message was from about an hour ago.

_"Jake! where the hell are you?! I found Sherry collapsed in your kitchen, s-shes still not awake.. we're heading towards the BSAA HQ to get a hold of Rebecca, get there as soon as you get this message Jake!"_

"Jake, we need to get to the BSAA HQ now." Leon waved at an oncoming taxi and waved for it, Jake could barely comprehend what was even happening. _Oh my god.. oh my god Sherry whats going on? Please be okay.._

"Jake come on!" Leon roared to the motionless Jake. He was so in shock that Leon had to jump out of the cab and tow him to it. "BSAA HQ and fast!" Leon said to the cab driver, who nodded and did a U-turn on the quiet street.

Meanwhile, Jake was in the back of the cab calling both Sherry and Claire, but neither answered, no matter how many times he called.

"Relax Jake, the BSAA HQ is like a 30 minute drive, we'll be there soon."

"Not soon enough!" Jake practically yelled. "Jesus Leon what if there's something seriously wrong? and my god damn phone just _had_ to decide not to get a god damn signal!" Jake really had to muster all of his will power to not roll down the window and throw it out, never to see it again.

"Jake, you're _not_ going in to see Sherry fuming, that wont help anything! Now either calm down or you can stay outside the BSAA!"

Jake opened his mouth to yell something, but realized if he did, it'd only be challenging Leon's threat. "Y... yeah.. right."

Leon sighed and nodded towards him. "Relax relax... it'll be alright, there's no way Sherry's in labor or anything like that, she'll be okay."

"Yeah.. hopefully.. "

After a relatively silent cab ride, they arrived at the front of the BSAA's HQ. Jake practically jumped out of the cab while Leon hung back to pay.

Upon entering the BSAA's all too familiar medical ward, Jake caught sight of Claire's pony tail in the corner of his eye in a small office room that Jake and Sherry were in for her Sonogram. Both Leon and Jake instantly ran for and burst through the door.

"So i'm sure t-" Rebecca was cut off mid sentence by the sound of the two men bursting into the office/medical bay. The first person Jake looked to was Sherry, who was sitting up on a bed, looking absolutely livid and exhausted. _Thank god.. she's awake._

Claire didn't look none too pleased with the men either, folding her arms defensively and scoffing at their loud abrupt entrance. The pair noticed Claire was still in her pajamas of a red pair of shorts and a sky blue hoody with ugg boots, while Sherry had a robe around her, presumably with her pajamas on underneath.

Rebecca - who opted to remain silent as she thought Claire might tear the men's heads off judging by her sour expression, but surprisingly remained silent - cleared her throat and continued on with informing the group of what had happened to Sherry.

"As i was _saying_." Rebecca began. "On bad days, If Sherry over works herself and does not stay in bed, she gets cramps and eventually collapses due to lack of energy. Her body was close to drained about 2 hours after she received her shot and because she did not immediately go to bed and rest, her body was slowly shutting down, i'm actually quite surprised you didn't become panicked once you felt so exhausted towards the end of the day Sherry."

"It wasn't that bad! it only really god bad once i fell asleep.. " said Sherry, defensively at first but her voice dropped to a whisper when she recalled the point when it went from bad to worse.

"Well in any case Sherry," said Rebecca, walking over to her brief case on her desk, pulling out a small package "You need to be put on new boosters completely. Today just tells me that your body no longer receive the benefit of your current boosters, so I've infused and updated them, hopefully these will pack more of a punch." Rebecca pulled out a syringe with a light blue liquid and motioned Sherry to offer her her arm.

Taking Sherry's arm in her hand, she gently injected the liquid into her arm. Though Sherry never could look at injections so she turned her head to Claire, who smiled reassuringly at her in return.

"And.. is the baby alright?" Jake asked Rebecca as she pulled away the syringe and began jotting down notes. Rebecca looked up to meet Jake in the eye and smiled weakly, "The baby is fine and will continue to be fine as long as the G-Virus keeps its attention on him or her, its Sherry i'm more worried about."

"But won't these boosters.. or whatever help with that? i mean.. we don't have anything to worry about that now that Sherry's on these, right?" asked Leon, still standing just inside the doorway with an awkward looking Jake.

"Hmm.. i would like to say yes Leon but nothing is a sure thing, i still need to run tests on Sherry's blood and how she reacts to this injection. All i can tell you is that these boosters will be more effective, but _how_ much more effective.. i don't know."

Both Jake and Leon nodded and Jake decided to brave the distance between him and Sherry and sit next to her beside the bed. Claire decided to walk over to talk to Leon in order to give them privacy, and Rebecca must of caught on to what they were doing, as she decided to sit at her desk and open her laptop.

"Sherry, why didn't you tell me it was a bad day?" he whispered, with an edge in his voice.

Sherry jerked her head to meet his eyes with a dangerous glare. "What?" she asked, almost in disbelief with his accusing tone.

"Jesus Christ, we-" Sherry hissed a "shh" at him before glaring daggers. "We will speak about this _at home_."

Neither had actually noticed, but when they looked up to see Leon and Claire, they were in hushed whispers. Both Jake and Sherry had assumed they were over Sherry and the fright Claire had gotten, because she was slightly shaking and, from what Sherry could see, was close enough to tears.

Leon wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her into a hug, "Jake," Leon began softly, "I'll stay with Claire tonight, give you two some space."

Before the pair walked out, Claire turned around at the last minute to look at Sherry, to tell her that she would be outside waiting for them to bring them home.

"That's all the information i have for you two really." Said Rebecca, slightly hesitant to speak as the air was now tense, but knew it wasn't over anything she had done, so she continued. "Sherry, just please sleep on your bad days, so we can avoid trips like these? we need as little stress on your body as possible in the coming months." she finished, handing Jake the package with the full syringes, with no labels Jake noticed. Instead, the syringes each had the words "Bad" and "Good" written on them with marker.

"Of course Rebecca." said Sherry, slightly dipping her head in both understanding and apology to the young medic. "I will see you two in 2 weeks then for Sherry's next check up and sonogram." Added Rebecca, shaking the couples hands and seeing them out.

They walked out in complete silence, Jake not wanting to talk to Sherry and vice versa.

Claire and Leon managed to carry a conversation for the 30 minute drive back to Sherry and Jake's apartment, not once did either party contribute a word, only to say thank you and good bye to Claire and Leon for the night.

The walk up to the apartment was - not so surprisingly - silent. Sherry walked briskly towards their apartment once they arrived on the right floor and Jake was afraid to wonder why she wanted to get there in such a hurry - he knew she was going to be livid over how the night had panned out but Jake knew that this was not all his fault, and was not about to let Sherry pin it all on him.

The minute they stepped into their apartment, Sherry turned around instantly to him and folded her arms, her expression as sour as possible. "Well?" she asked, her tone sharp and direct, clearly leaving no room for Jake's usual sweet talk that got him out of every argument they ever had. He knew if he even smiled, Sherry would most likely storm out.

"_Well?_" Jake echoed, "Why the hell didn't you tell me yesterday was a bad day? do you just not give a fuck about your health anymore, or.. ?" he nearly shouted, but decided against it the minute he saw Sherry's face go from annoyance to full on rage.

"_Excuse me?_" Sherry spat, almost in awe at the nerve of his statement. "Where the_ hell_ were you when i needed you! I told you to keep that _damn_ phone on in case of an emergency!

"I did! the fucking place had no signal, i went outside to get a signal and everything at like 2 am!"

Sherry scoffed, "You gave up quick on that obviously!" storming out to the bed room. Jake quickly followed, grabbing her arm and spinning her around to look at his, and despite Sherry's clear annoyance as she furiously tried to pull away from him, Jake didn't give her an inch. He put pressure on Sherry's arm but it didn't hurt her.

"Sherry, will you just listen to me?!" Jake roared a lot louder than was meant - a habit he developed when ever he had gotten into an argument with an officer or some type of security in his mercenary days; talk louder and they will always listen - not that it ever worked.

"Do _not_ yell at me Jake Muller!" Sherry warned him, using her other hand to push him off, but he didn't budge.

Jake rolled his eyes and dropped her arm. Sherry rubbed in dramatically, more out of happiness she had it back than out of pain. "Sherry, none of this would of happened if you had just fucking told me yesterday was a bad day! for god sake i could of rescheduled us seeing the house!"

Sherry opened her mouth to speak but she was so shocked by Jake's words that they take a few minutes to form. "Wow.. are you really putting the blame on _me_ right now? after you've been out drinking for the night, having a fantastic time while i lied on the kitchen floor, absolutely dying from the pain?"

Jake threw his arms up out of frustration, and turned around for a few moments, staying silent before turning back around with a more calm and collected face. "You know what Sherry? you wouldn't of been on the _god damn floor_ if you had just told me the truth!"

Sherry shook her head in disbelief. "Unbelievable, i was here in our apartment, on the floor, thinking i was going to _die_ from the pain, and you're actually blaming me for it! You're almost acting like i went out of my way to lie to you for my own benefit _entirely!_ You're a selfish jerk Jake!" she countered coldly, before running into there bedroom, slamming the door in his face.

Jake stood outside the door practically ready to scream, but he settled for getting the last word in on their argument as calmly and collected as possible, "_None_ of this would of happened if you had just put our kid first Sherry, that's all you had to do." he said coldly before walking back into their sitting room, not even bothering to listen for a reply. She never did anyway.

Jake sat on the couch, absolutely fuming - both from the fact that he had just said one of the most cold-hearted things he'd ever said to Sherry in his life and the fact that this had been one of their first fights, and it had gotten out of hand, fast.

He lied down on the couch, staring up at the ceiling for about 5 minutes when he heard muffled sobbing coming from their bedroom, sobbing that broke his heart. _Good job Jake, upset her more._

He knew Sherry would be quick to push him out of he went in there, so he decided he needed to take his punishment of hearing Sherry's crying for the night and give her her space.

That night, neither of them slept.

Sherry had given herself a huge headache from her crying, making her head throb with pain and her heart ache with sadness every time she replayed Jake's harsh words in her mind. _None of this would of happened if you had just put our kid first._ At first, she had cried over how harsh and untrue his words were, but as the night continued, and her head sore, she realized.. although Jake's words were very harsh, they were true..

Meanwhile, Jake had stayed wide awake all those hours, cringing every time he heard her soft sobbing through the wall, and suppressing the horrible urge he got every time to run into their room and envelope her in a hug he hoped would of melted away her sadness, but knew a hug would of done just the opposite in her state.

At around 6 am he jolted up from the couch - sick of standing by, knowing he had caused the love of his life this pain - and practically ran to their bedroom, but suddenly hesitated at the door, brushing his fingers lightly on the door handle, contemplating what he'd even say. _I feel like any apology coming from me would either come out sounding fake or sarcastic, maybe i should just-_

The bedroom door suddenly swung open and a startled Sherry faced him. Her eyes were red, and her cheeks still stained with tears. She looked both exhausted and utterly defeated as she frowned up at Jake, and it was at that moment that he'd never been so disappointed in himself. _I made her cry, i caused every single one of those tears. This is why i wanted to leave all together.. i knew this would happen. But what if i really had left all together? _

_No, i know it wouldn't of been better for her, i know it.. i just need to prove that i'm not the monster my father is._

"I'm sorry." the two spoke at the same time, perfectly in sync with their apologies, surprising them both.

"W-why are you sorry?" Jake asked in disbelief. "You.. you shouldn't be, everything that happened-"

"Started when i didn't tell you it was a bad day." whispered Sherry, her voice hoarse from crying all through the night. Jake suddenly couldn't take it anymore, he couldn't take the reminder that he had hurt Sherry, and pulled her into a tight hug, holding her head against his chest, all the while slowly stroking her soft blonde hair, hoping to soothe away the pain he'd inflicted.

"No Sherry.. it was me. Jesus Christ i'm such an idiot, i really am sorry.. " he whispered in her ear as he dried her tears with his thumb. _I swear i'll never make you cry again Sherry, because it'll kill me if i ever do this to you again._

"Jake, i really.. didn't put our kid first yesterday." she protested, slightly pushing against his chest to look him dead in the eye, silently trying to convey that she was dead serious about the matter. "I.. i don't know Jake.. I just hadn't seen you in so long and i wanted to be out with you again like before.. and i just completely disregarded my own health or the babies and i just.." Sherry's eyes instantly flooded with tears and before Jake could dry them again for her, she buried her face in his chest, softly sobbing.

"Shh, its okay Sherry, its okay.. " he soothed, gently lifting his hand from her head and rubbing her back. "Sherry i.. i'm sorry i didn't try harder to get a phone signal yesterday.. i just.. everything's been so stressful and i didn't think i was going to be a dad so soon, and i just needed a break.. god i'm such an ass." he whispered.

The atmosphere was so heavy with guilt and sadness that Jake was sure he was going to give into it and shed tears from how utterly disappointed he was in himself.

"C-can we jus-" Sherry was suddenly cut off mid sentence by the sound of Jake's phone ringing. Sherry slowly pushed herself off from Jake's chest and nodded at him to take the call, decided now was as good a time as ever to use the bathroom and clean herself off._ I probably look like a train wreck._

"This is Jake." he stated upon answering the phone call from whom ever it was, and Sherry, thinking it was either Leon or Chris or even Hunnigan, left him to it.

Once in the bathroom, Sherry nearly had a heart attack upon seeing her reflection in the mirror - her eyes were red, cheeks soaked with tears, hair in a complete mess, and looking like she hadn't slept in 2 weeks. _That's gotta be good for the baby._

Sherry splashed some water on her face and brushed back her hair - and decided that while she was alone, would take her booster by herself. The air was too heavy with tension around Jake that she was afraid to ask, and besides, she had made a promise to herself that she now needed to take much better care of herself and stop being so reckless with her health for the sake of the baby - besides, how hard was it to take a shot? she'd been receiving them her whole life from the government, so she knew pretty well how it worked at this stage.

Once she injected herself with the booster, she was surprised to see the immediate changes it made to her. She almost immediately felt refreshed, like she had just drank 12 cups of coffee and was ready to run a marathon. _Wow Rebecca, you weren't kidding when you said this packs a punch._

Even on her best days during the pregnancy, Sherry had to admit that she'd never felt this good, and made a mental note to kiss Rebecca the next time she saw her, because if the boosters worked as well as this for the rest of her pregnancy, she'd be extremely happy with herself. _And maybe i can even stop working from home and go back to work at the DSO._ The thought was nearly enough to pull her from feeling so hopelessly upset by the previous nights mishap, but her happiness quickly turned sour when she realized Jake and her were probably going to be having a big discussion about this.

Feeling the atmospheres tension, she opened the bathroom door and walked out to Jake, who looked.. positively giddy with his phone in his hand. Catching her coming out of the bathroom, Jake smiled and nodded. "Yeah she's here right beside me, i'm going to tell her now. Thank you, thank you so much." he said, hanging up the phone.

"I.. wha-" Jake instantly picked Sherry up in a tight hug and spun her around, laughing like a child. Sherry was so confused, but actually felt quite happy now feeling the tension melt away in Jake's laughing.

"Sherry, the other couple pulled out, we got the house!" he shouted, kissing her over and over again. Sherry's mind went blank for about 10 seconds, until she realized the gravity of his words.

"We what?!" she asked, completely paralyzed by his words. "Y-you're kidding!" she said in disbelief, now kissing him back, smothering him in a flurry of kisses, laughing with him.

"Its all ours Sherry, we get the keys next week after we've handed over mortgage statements and signed the deed!" he gently set her down and shook his head in both happiness and disbelief.

"We.. we have a house!" whispered Sherry, squealing with excitement as she jumped back into his arms, both barely able to control there happiness.

After a few moments of holding each other, kissing between giggles of excitement, Jake lowered his lips to her ear. "We're all grown up Sherry."

Sherry laughed at his silly statement, taking her back to the previous day when he'd said it leaving the perfect house. _Well, now its ours!_

"I guess we are Jake." she whispered, burying her head in his neck.

"Jesus we have like, a million things to worry about first!" Jake said, his smile fading.

Sherry frowned. "Huh?"

"Well we gotta get paint for the rooms, we need new furniture for the bedroom, i think the table in the kitchen needed a new leg, definitely new chairs for it anyway, The shelves in the kitchen were a disaster, the bathroom upstairs needed a new shower hea-"

"Woah woah woah, slow down Jake!" she giggled, seeing his clear excitement about doing up the house and making it theirs.

"We need to make a list!" Jake announced, running to the kitchen, frantically searching for a notebook and pen - which he eventually found.

The couple then settled at the kitchen table, Jake writing out a list of absolutely everything that needed to be done, while Sherry put on a pot of coffee and starting breakfast. _He's so excited about the house, i can tell him about the new boosters later!_

It seemed like just when they needed it, they received nothing but good news.

Sherry handed him a plate of scrambled egg and toast, and a cup of coffee a few minutes later, feeling extremely happy with her new found energy, though Jake didn't notice how upbeat she was, or even to eat his breakfast - he was too enveloped in his list.

"Trade?" Sherry said, taking his list and replacing it with his plate of breakfast. Jake was about to protest but when he saw the fine plate of food, he couldn't help but say thank you and instantly dig in. Sherry smirked and began reading his notes so far.

_Front door/All rooms need paint - Sitting room might need a new TV - bedroom needs a mattress, 2 new chairs and a TV, as well as a shower head for the suite.._

The notes seemed to go on like that for a while, listing off tasks that needed to be done to the house, but something she couldn't help but smirk at was the note at the bottom, which read "Nursery" and was circled and underlined.

"We should get the Nursery done first, so when we move in, we know the babies room is finished."

"Mmm." Jake nodded with a mouthful of toast, which made Sherry laugh, and made the two completely forget their fight the night before. _He's not perfect but he's mine._

When he swallowed, he shoved his chair closer to her and tapped a pen on the list. "We need to get to painting first so all the rooms are aired out and ready for any furniture we put in, Leon said he'll help us with anything so we have him too."

Sherry nodded, "Yeah, the priority is the nursery for now so i'll paint that myself, you and Leon can paint the master since it looks like a two person job, plus Claire said she'll help so she can always paint the kitchen."

"Perfect." said Jake, grinning to himself as he went over the list with his wife.

Funny, Sherry never pictured talking about painting or moving around furniture to be a very romantic scenario, but as the couple sat there, Jake sipping his coffee and Sherry talking about the carpets upstairs, she couldn't of pictured anything better, because this was going to be their house, and they were in complete control of everything that was going to be in it.

"About the nursery though.. " Sherry barely containing a giggle, which caught Jake's attention.

"Do we paint it pink or blue?"


	12. Chapter 12

An entire month.

An entire month spent painting rooms, buying furniture, hanging pictures, plugging in and plugging out electronics, messing with pipes and moving furniture. Not to mention annoying Chris, Jill, Claire and Leon with every opportunity they got.

Leon and Jake had worked on the master together, painting 2 walls white, and wallpapering the back wall of the bed and opposite wall with a dark navy pattern that Sherry had declared she'd fallen in love with upon seeing, and Jake simply nodded his head, not all too bothered about it. Between moving furniture up and down the stairs for nearly 2 weeks straight, by the end Leon had sworn he'd never do it again.

Claire, Sherry and Jill worked on the kitchen and sitting room, the trio painting the kitchen a soft pastel shade of red to go with the cream they'd painted the table, and to match a gorgeous set of china the couple had received for there wedding and planned to display on newly built shelves on the end of the cabinets just above the sink.

While the girls laughed and chatted away in the sitting room, pushing and pulling the couch, TV, Stereo, the Piano, dusting the mantle, sweeping and organizing, CD's and DVD's, they'd taken a break one day when they'd discovered a box full of Photos of both Sherry and Jake

the trio oh'd and aw'd at all the pictures - ranging from when Claire had taken Sherry in to live with her after a year of government custody, and she'd taken many pictures with her to attempt to build happy memories - which they did - to pictures of nights when the girls would have sleepovers in Claire's apartment or Jill's old apartment, as well as a few silly photos taken by Jake, Chris or Leon on their occasional nights out to the bar.

They knew they'd been laughing much to hard when Chris had walked into the room, sweating from all the work he was doing in the kitchen to the tables and shelves, and promptly snatched the photo box away and replaced it with a few rags and dusters.

"You're no fun!" Jill had yelled, throwing her rag at Chris' head which he avoided with a triumphant laugh. "Just keep working or we'll never get the house set up!" he yelled right back, going back to fixing up the kitchen table.

Jake and Sherry had decided to change the downstairs front empty room into an office from where Sherry could work on her paper work, and Jake could use as a study of sorts, using it as a place where he could sit and read a novel in peace, or do paper work (though if he hadn't before, he seriously doubt he would in the new house.)

The back empty room they'd discovered linked to the smaller bathroom located downstairs, so they thought that they'd simply use it for storage, and keep a downstairs diaper changing table there for convenience - to avoid running up and down the stairs all day. "We can always change it if we want down the road." had said Sherry one afternoon, when Jake has finished mopping the dusty wooden floor.

Though Jake and Sherry had originally planned to take care of the Nursery first thing, it had actually been left as the last room due to unforeseen events. As of right now, the Nursery was completely untouched, or so Sherry said.

About 3 weeks into doing up the house, Sherry's landlord had come to their apartment and demanded there rent for the following month early, which she found to be downright unfair - plus, both her and Jake were broke from buying a new television for their sitting room, and its cost was about the months rent - so both her and Jake had been forced to move out within a month.

Though their house had taken a full month to complete with all of their friends help, they still had 1 week to go in Sherry's apartment before they had to leave.

Aside from a few changes of clothes, a blanket, 3 pillows, some food in the kitchen, Sherry's laptop, a few things in the bathroom, a small kitchen table with 2 chairs and a blow up mattress, their apartment was empty.

In the empty sitting room lied the mattress, a blanket and the couple, sitting beside each other, eating Chinese take out, watching a movie on Sherry's laptop. It was a comedy, so the 2 were in quite the good mood.

"So you haven't had a bad day in like 2 weeks, are we really lucky or are you just a good liar?" said Jake, munching on a piece of chicken.

Sherry giggled and shook her head. "Nope! i told you these new boosters were fantastic, i haven't felt this good in forever!"

Jake nodded and smiled, happy to see his wife had the energy she had before her pregnancy. Seeing her restored to her old self definitely made Jake feel that bit better with everything, and of course, the house was a huge distraction that he sorely needed, and welcomed.

Rebecca had also reported that Sherry's body was healthy - no signs of dehydration or heart failure (something she had secretly feared a possibility), and it seemed Sherry's body wouldn't be outgrowing the affects of her newly updated and fortified boosters any time soon. She had to admit; it made her feel fantastic. Both from the fact that she knew she was truly helping Sherry and it was really having an impact now, and that Sherry could finally enjoy her pregnancy.

Though Sherry thought Rebecca looked rather concerned when she saw Sherry's second and (about 3 days ago) third sonogram pictures, but she had told Sherry she was simply imagining it. Sherry had shrugged it off at the time and didn't really let it bother her. Rebecca was a trusted friend of both her and Jake, and knew if something really _was_ wrong, they wouldn't be kept in the dark.

"I can't believe we're officially moving out in a few days.. out of my apartment.. " Sherry said, trailing off as she was plunged into a sort of sadness about it all. The apartment she was in was her first space that she owned and was her home. It was the place where Jake had lived for a short them when he got back from China. The place where they had had their first date, where they had their first kiss - among other things - and where they had celebrated numerous birthdays with friends and holidays.

Sherry wasn't the only one to feel a sadness about leaving, Jake felt it too. Sherry's apartment had become Sherry and Jake's apartment so fast, and it was his first stable home since his mother had died of illness. He felt so welcome in this tiny 2 bedroom apartment, and it was an odd feeling to sit in it now, knowing that these were the last days he'd be seeing it ever.

Jake pulled Sherry into a hug and wrapped his arms reassuringly around her, gently rubbing her back to soothe her sadness. "I know.. but its for the better, at our new home, our kid will have a huge back yard and his or her own room and maybe even a playroom."

Sherry smiled and nodded. "I know its for the best, its just.. a change."

Jake pressed his lips against her forehead lightly and nodded, holding his head there. "This change is for the better Supergirl, we'll build our lives as a family in our new home, together."

Hearing a yawn closely followed by a hum of agreement, Jake set aside their empty take out containers, shut Sherry's laptop and pulled the blankets up on top of them. "Movie was over anyway." he murmured as he gently set down an already half asleep Sherry onto the less than comfortable mattress.

While Sherry slept, Jake had sat up, watching her chest rise and fall with each breath, smiling to himself at how gorgeous she was. Surprising himself, Jake pulled the blankets ever so slightly off of Sherry to reveal her now noticeably big stomach. It had grown a lot bigger faster than Jake had expected, but left the reasoning down to the G-Virus and how it'd focused all attention to the child.

Even though Sherry was only a little over 4 months into her pregnancy, she looked about 8 months pregnant, maybe even more.

Jake was pleasantly surprised to see that he no longer cringed at the site like he did before he left for his mission - in fact, he loved seeing Sherry's exposed stomach, and loved it even more when they were in bed, with Sherry's back to his chest, stroking her stomach just gently enough to earn him a soft moan of approval.

In the house, neither had allowed their friends to go near the planned Nursery as Sherry had wanted only Jake and herself to set the room up, and as the month had gone on at the house, Jake found himself more and more excited to do it along side her.

Finally, Jake lied down next to Sherry and pulled her back against his chest, gently stroking her stomach as he would do nearly every night now, and began to think. He smiled upon remembering that tomorrow the couple would be doing their first shopping trip for their baby, buying literally everything they needed for him or her - aside from certain clothes, as Sherry had insisted that every time she had a sonogram, that Rebecca tell neither the babies gender.

"Good night Supergirl." Jake gently whispered in Sherry's ear before drifting off himself, pulling the blanket back up to cover the two, keeping them warm all night long.

* * *

The next morning, Jake woke up to the pleasant smell of coffee and eggs. Instantly sitting up, his eyes eagerly swept the kitchen in looks for Sherry, though frowned slightly when she wasn't found. Sitting him, he stretched out stiff muscles and stood up to broaden his search.

Upon walking into the kitchen, he noticed a sweeping noise from the washroom and smiled, knowing all too well who was making it. "Mornin' Supergirl." Jake said, smiling when he heard the sweeping noise come to a stop and Sherry reply with "Morning! Breakfast is on the table, dig in!"

Jake loved how cheery she was in the mornings now. Before, she had been quite sluggish because of the old boosters not doing a terrific job, but now that she'd taken it upon herself to take her boosters by herself every morning, Jake was always happy to wake up and find her happily humming a tune or fixing him breakfast.

Sitting at the table, he saw a fine plate of bacon, a fried egg, a piece of toast and a piping hot cup of coffee. Turning on Sherry's laptop and sipping on his coffee, he quickly became too engrossed in whatever he was doing to notice when Sherry walked out a mere 5 minutes later and had smiled at him.

Grabbing a fresh croissant from their fridge and taking out some strawberry jam, Sherry sat at the table opposite Jake and began preparing her breakfast. "What are you doing Jake?" Sherry asked, taking a small bite out of her croissant and smiling from the sweet taste.

"There's that baby place about 20 minutes from here? we can get the big things there, then stuff like diapers and all that at the place in Riverview that we passed next week, sound alright?" Jake asked, finishing off his last piece of bacon and downing some coffee.

"Sure, sounds good." said Sherry, biting into her croissant and holding it in her mouth as she stood up to take Jake's plate and cup and put it in the sink. Jake just presumed Sherry was excited to get going so he quickly tucked into the bathroom to wash up and change as he was still in his sweat pants from the night before.

When he emerged from the bathroom, washed up and dressed, Sherry was practically bouncing in the hall from excitement with her car keys and purse in hand. He noticed as well as Sherry's white tight fitting coat and her high-heeled boots, Sherry had put on a light blue hat and matching gloves, much to Jake's approval as the weather was still pretty cold despite it being late February.

All Jake could do was chuckle at her behavior. "Alright alright Sher, we're going." he said in between laughing. Sherry smiled, surprisingly not slapping Jake on the arm for laughing at her. _Damn, she must be in a really good mood._

As they walked out, Sherry instantly wrapped her arm around Jake's arm and kissed him lightly on his shoulder as he locked their apartment. He smirked with approval and quickly leaned over to kiss her on her head before she pulled away. "Lets go get furniture for the most important room of the house then, Mrs. Muller."

"Lead the way Mr. Muller." she said with a giggle.

* * *

Upon arriving at the baby store, the couple felt quite overwhelmed. They found that there were about 5 types of cribs and neither had a clue if they needed only 1 or more. Deciding to skip the crib for the moment, they decided to move onto finding a diaper changing table and had actually found a cute white one with various cartoon characters on the table when a young girl, probably in her early twenties asked did the pair need help, which they eagerly agreed to.

Trailing back to the crib section, they picked out a simple white crib, that they both felt would do either gender. "And what colour would you like the bed lining?" the girl had asked at one point. Sherry had said she wanted blue and Jake simply agreed, mustering all of his self control to not laugh and shout that it was all the better for when they had a boy, but Jake knew Sherry simply wanted blue because she loved blue anywhere.

While the woman packed their crib into their car as well as the diaper changing table, they decided to look at smaller bits since it seemed they wouldn't be getting the stroller they had wanted to get this week, plus no more big parts would probably fit in Sherry's car.

They picked up a few bibs, bottles, pacifiers, the odd plush to decorate shelves in, baby vests, as well as a soft toddler blanket they could use for the bed. Deciding they had enough for this week,

Feeling a lot more broke than they thought they would, they had decided in the store to head straight for their house and assemble everything in the room. Remembering they hadn't painted it, the couple strolled down to a paint shop not too far from the shop and picked up 2 cans of paint; white and a baby blue.

Sherry and Jake then walked back to their car, laughing and smiling, hands locked together as braved the cold wind that occasionally nipped at their noses. The couple felt very proud of themselves, having about 80% of their babies room handled and the rest of their house completely finished, all they needed to do at this point was stock the house with food, properly put away clothes, get WiFi in the house and a couple tax and mail documents signed, and they'd be completely finished their home.

Or so Jake thought anyway.

"With all this shit, i'm pretty sure _we_ could start up a baby store - just how many kids are we having anyway?" Jake asked, looking back to their large haul in amazement. Sherry giggled and nodded, "Welcome to the world of babies Jake! they surprisingly need a lot of stuff."

Jake shook his head in disbelief and chuckled. "Whatever, lets get back to the house so i can put the crib and table together, can you start painting?"

Sherry nodded and suddenly planted a soft kiss on Jake's cheek, earning a subtle blush across his cheeks but it faded as quickly as it came. "Thanks for today Jake." she whispered in his ear, planning another kiss on his left temple, earning a wide smirk from him. "Anything for my Supergirl." he said, claiming her lips in one swift motion, causing her to giggle in delight.

"Alright alright, time to go!" she said over giggles as Jake relentlessly planted kisses over and over on her soft irresistible lips. "You got lucky this time." he growled with a smirk, pulling away from her and starting up the car, pulling away from the parking lot and driving in the direction of their home.

* * *

"He's moving north, taking a residential street." said a man on the phone not too far from where Jake and Sherry had pulled away.

"Did he show any signs of the virus?" asked a Spanish man.

"Not from what i could see anyway." he answered, nervous to tell his boss that the virus had possibly failed.

"Hmmm." hummed the Spanish man, thinking. "Keep your distance from them, i know for a fact that the virus' worked, its just a matter of time before it yields results."

"Yes sir." the man nodded, checking the time on his wrist watch. "Sir they said they were heading to their house, will i tail them?"

"Yes, you know the address, and If you get caught, don't come back." the Spanish man warned before hanging up.

"_Whatever you say._" the man said in a sarcastic tone and hung up the public phone, walking over to his car and hopping in, turning on a GPS that was tracking the couples car.

* * *

"What the hell!" Jake practically roared upon driving up to their home. Sherry rolled her eyes in expectancy, though wasn't quite ready to speak up just yet. As the electric gates opened, Jake speed up the drive way and hopped out of the car, jogging towards their garage that Was covered in blankets and hid the garage completely.

Jake was fully convinced that their garage was being broken into or something, but when he tried to enter, the door was locked. Growling with frustration, he slammed his fist into the door. "Who the fuck thinks they can rob us?! Jesus i thought this neighborhood was safe!"

Sherry giggled, earning herself a glare from the fuming Jake. "Whats so funny? _All_ of our clothes and old furniture were in there!"

Sherry giggled even more and gently pulled him into a hug. "Are you done now?" she asked, amused with how utterly confused he now looked.

"H.. huh?" he asked, looking increasingly confused when Sherry dug in her purse and pulled out a key Jake hadn't seen before, and inserted it into the garage door, gently pressing the door open, allowing Jake entry first.

Upon entering, Jake nearly had a heart attack.

When they had bought the house, the garage was a dusty room, full of cobwebs, spiders, old and rotting wood on the ceiling, wit a few steel shelves - a generic garage really, but what he was greeted with was anything but.

Now, the back wall of the garage was now walled completely with windows, allowing the light to pour in. Their were curtains at either side and their apartments old couch, coffee table and TV arranged in front of the window, as well as a mini fridge and rack for beer bottles in the corner. Though there was still plenty of room in the garage for their car, there was something in front of the garage door that was covered in an old looking sheet.

Jake turned around, looking so utterly lost for words that Sherry couldn't help but let out a fit of giggles. "Sherry.. who did-"

"It took me a while, but i threw it together last week! oh and look under the cloth for the real surprise." she said with a smile, her giggles now slowly fading.

Jake excitedly ran over to the cloth and ripped it off, utterly shocked with what lay underneath.

Jake gasped out loud upon seeing a brand new Harley Davidson Softail underneath, almost identical to the bike he was forced to sell in Edonia for their home. Gently, he brushed his fingertips over the handles and turned to see a pleased looking Sherry. "Sherry.. " he barely whispered, quickly striding over to her to envelope her in a tight hug.

"Sherry how did you afford this?" he barely whispered, still not fully convinced with what Sherry had done. "I lied when i said i had 10,000 in savings.. i had 15,000.. i was just afraid about losing all my savings but i can see now that this is what I've been saving for, you and a baby." she said with a smile. "Besides, seeing you this happy is very worth it."

Pressing a deep kiss to her lips, Sherry sighed happily against his embrace, gently cuddling him as he slowly grasped that he had his beloved motorbike back, even if it wasn't the one he'd had since he was 19.

"I'll go upstairs and start painting, feel free to stay here and take your bike for a ride." she said with a smile.

Jake smiled and quickly squeezed her before letting her go. "I love you Sherry!" he said in an overly excited voice, clapping his hands together in excitement.

Before Sherry could even reply, Jake was inspecting every inch of the bike and Sherry knew all too well that Jake was officially too busy to talk. Rolling her eyes with a smile, she left Jake to his true love and went upstairs to the nursery to begin painting.

Jake's last thought before hoping on his motorbike was that he'd have to do something seriously nice for Sherry to be paid back for this, and as he turned the key in the ignition and heard the purr of the engine, he came up with the perfect plan to make her as happy as he was.

* * *

**I got some major inspiration last night for this story, and i think for a little while, i'll be focusing on this rather than on King and Lionheart, just for a little while though! don't worry, i am not abandoning King and Lionheart, it'll be finished ASAP!**

**Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed!**


	13. Chapter 13

"A baby shower?!" Claire practically shouted, nearly jumping out her chair in excitement.

"Geez Claire keep it down!" Jake growled, sipping on his coffee. Himself, Claire and Jill were in the local café in Riverview. He foolishly thought he could quietly discuss plans for a baby shower quietly to surprise Sherry, but Claire had other ideas.

"What day did you have in mind Jake?" Jill asked, amused with her Sister in laws reaction.

Jake shrugged and thought for a moment. "I know Sherry will be pretty sad the day we officially move out of the apartment, so why not have a surprise waiting for her when she comes home?"

Jill nodded, "I think she'd like that, what day is that?"

"Saturday." Jake said, sipping more of his coffee.

"What? Jake that gives us 3 days to organize everything!" Jill said, sounding quite surprised with Jake.

"Jill we'll get it all done! you can go into the DSO and invite some of the girls Sherry knows and Hunnigan, and i'll sort out gifts and decorations!" Said Claire, clearly too happy about the idea of a party for Sherry rather than stressing over its organisation like Jill clearly was.

Jake nodded, "I can get food and drinks and all that shit, you 2 can take care of guests and decorations and all that i'm guessing?"

The two nodded and instantly started talking among themselves about who to, and who not to invite. Claire at one point had asked Jill what she should get Sherry, and this made the two look over to Jake

"What, you think i know what she wants? just buy her a necklace or something." he said with a shrug.

Jill and Claire took a moment to meet each other dead in the eye, and moments later, burst out laughing. Jake frowned at their laughing, not really seeing what he had said wrong. "Or new clothes, i don't know!"

"Jake, a baby shower is where we give Sherry gifts for the baby!" Claire said once their laughing had died down. "what did you think it was?" Jill asked, generally curious as to what Jake thought went on at baby showers.

"I thought it was just a bunch of girls giving Sherry presents and being happy over the kid, i don't know!" In truth, Jake didn't. It was only ever him and his mother during his childhood - his mother had been an only child and his grandparents had disowned his mother before he ever got to meet them (possibly over how young she was when she became pregnant) - So Jake never really experienced any typical family outings or celebrations, and yes, that included baby showers.

Not only had he never had first hand experience with celebrations, he never really saw them either. There small home had only a television for about a month before his mother was forced to pawn it for food - not that it had ever bothered him - he was forced to get a job at a young age and never had time to lounge about and watch anything anyway. He never really planned on - or wanted - to be involved with such celebrations or the responsibility or people it came with it. _And now i'm actually planning a frilly girly baby shower. And i thought the Sleepover and Romantic comedy DVD nights Sherry had with Claire and Jill were bad. _He frowned ever so slightly.

"Aww.. Jake, you're too cute!" Claire happily beamed, clearly well entertained from his clueless behavior.

"Whatever!" Jake announced, embarrassed that he was being made fun of over the fact that he had no idea how a baby shower worked. _of all fucking things! _"What should i get her then, _oh all knowing Claire?_" he injected every last bit of sarcasm he could into the last part of his sentence just to get under Claire's skin, but she seemed unfazed as her wide grin didn't even falter in the slightest.

"Hmmmm.." Claire hummed in thought as she tried to think of an appropriate gift for a father to be to give to his wife. "Maybe... Oh!" she said excitedly, earning her confused looks from both Jill and Jake. Shaking her head in excitement, she whispered the idea to Jill, who, after a few minutes, nodded excitedly.

"You got that idea from what Chris gave me, huh?" Jill said with a laugh, which Claire returned with a wide grin. "Who do you think told Chris to get it for you!"

Growing impatient, Jake sighed. "Fine. I'll bite. Claire, what are you talking about?"

The two women turned their attention to Jake and grinned almost evilly which made Jake extremely nervous for what was about to come.

The two women almost in sync, stood from their chairs and before Jake could ask, Claire spoke. "We're gonna have to show you, since it needs to be ordered." she said with as much amusement in her voice as had been the entire time, and Jake found himself simply shrugging and following the two women out the door.

_This is going to be a long week._

* * *

A few days later, it was time for both Sherry and Jake to well and truly say goodbye to their first home together.

While Jake's feelings were mixed and and slightly sad to be leaving the place, Sherry was sobbing into a tissue and wondering the apartment, occasionally mumbling a few incoherent over her sobs and then walking off into some different part of the house. Though Jake knew Sherry wasn't _this_ upset over leaving their apartment for their new home. No. Sherry was this upset because despite Rebecca's boosters doing a magnificent job at keeping Sherry in top form, they were amplifying Sherry's hormones like crazy.

Before, Sherry's emotions would be slightly more over the top due to the weaker boosters boost in hormones, as well as her weird food cravings like peanut butter and mango smoothies, but she only ever occasionally requested those.

Now though, Sherry's emotions ranged from dramatic to an Oscar winning performance - Jake's personal favourite was when he caught her crying over how a pair of Sherry's black jogging pants had turned one of Jake's nicer white dress shirts grey. Jake had chuckled when he saw her crying and paid dearly for it, being banished to the couch for the night for _'being an ass'_ though, Jake had wandered into their bedroom around 1 am, only to find Sherry crying once again, mumbling _'i'm sorry'_ over and over. An eventful day to say the least.

As for her food cravings, they went from weird to plain disgusting. Just before bed every night, Sherry would request pineapple slices with cream - which wasn't _that_ bad, but in the mornings, instead of her usual sweet scone or croissant with jam, she had a tuna salad sandwich with onions and ketchup, which Jake gagged at nearly every time he saw her eat one. While watching movies or TV, Sherry would almost always empty some chocolate sweets into their bowl of popcorn, which again, wasn't that bad, but if Jake hated anything, it was when people mixed chocolate with popcorn. Sherry had also hated it before her pregnancy, but honestly, Jake was convinced if the boosters were updated anymore than they currently were, Sherry would eventually get a craving for eating dry wall.

And with how amused Jake was with her bazaar cravings, he'd gladly cut a chunk for her.

He found that ever since he'd returned, he was being a lot more accommodating with her; helping her do laundry, do dinner, clean and even vacuum and sweep upon occasion. Another great bonus was that when ever he helped, Sherry would gladly allow him watch a football game or a particularly scary movie he knew she wouldn't watch, with gave her the opportunity to slip away for a bath and early night, and gave him the opportunity to get a beer and relax. Oh, that and her hormones were practically driving her insane, so when ever Jake hopped in to bed beside her, they did anything but sleep.

Jake also smirked at how much they'd done it over the past two weeks, having lost count quite easily. A mental note to kiss Rebecca the next time he saw her was quickly added to his to-do list. Maybe he could do it tonight at the baby shower. Though, once news had gotten around about the surprise baby shower, Leon, Chris and even Billy had called and said they were dying to see the new Harley and garage just for them. Admittedly, he did want to stay around the baby shower for an hour or two, but Claire and Jill had swiftly told him that a baby shower was just for women.

_Damn, now i have to spend the evening drinking beer with the guys, tuning up my motorcycle and watching the game while Sherry enjoys a day with the girls, how awful._ He could barely stop himself from smirking but quickly stopped himself when Sherry emerged from their bedroom with a gasp for air, quickly returning to sobbing into the soaked tissue in her hand.

Deciding that Sherry needed a little motivation to actually leave the apartment, he walked up behind her and pulled her against his chest, kissing her head gently attempting to stop her sobbing. It didn't quite stop it, but it certainly took it down a few notches.

"I-i just c-can't believe we're r-really moving out of here!" said Sherry, gasping at least three times during that sentence and immediately sobbing straight back into her tissue as Jake held her in place.

"Sherry it'll be fine." he gently soothed, snaking his hands over her swollen belly and gently stroking it in an attempt to calm her borderline hysteria. "I know this sucks because it was our first home and all that, but we have a _real_ home waiting for us now, with a garden and everything, and we'll have a better time there because its bigger and better for the kid." he gently murmured in her ear.

After a few minutes, her breathing calmed and she relaxed in his hold, finally nodding to let Jake know she understood. She knew this was good, but if Sherry Birkin hated anything, it was change.

"O-okay.." she finally surrendered, gently holding his head where it was resting on her hip. Just then, the two let go of each other, but kept a firm grip of their hands.

"Alex says we have to leave our keys." said Jake as calmly as possible, tiptoeing around her to avoid her bursting into a fit of sobbing, which seemed to have worked when she reached in her pocket and took out her pastel blue coloured key and gently placed it on the table without fuss, though she took her time in fully putting it down. When she finally let go of the key a few minutes later, Jake heard her sigh and gently pulled her into a hug.

"Its okay Sherry, its okay." he soothed, trying to make this change as easy on her as possible. Jake carelessly tossed his key on the counter and gave the apartment one more look before turning Sherry to go out the door. The apartment was a small space, but it was bulging with memories for the couple. They had a lot of firsts in these rooms, and had gone from partners, to best friends, to semi serious couple, to fiancée's and then finally to a married couple. Yes, this apartment was truly a special space for the Muller's, but Jake knew if such a small apartment could hold so much sentimental value to a guy who couldn't even pronounce the word happy about 3 years ago, then he knew that the space would make someone else equally as happy.

_Good luck who ever gets this place, its a hell of a ride._

Sherry then nodded with a weak smile, giving Jake the signal that she was ready, and the walked out of the apartment, hand in hand, now sure that he was ready to take on the next chapter.

* * *

Sherry had been awfully quiet on the final drive from their apartment to their new home, but that was fine, Jake knew she was still mentally sorting everything out, and Jake was only happy to comply with her request for silence. It gave him a chance to do a quick mental check list of things needed for the party. Oh well, if i forgot anything i'm sure Claire's already gotten or replaced it.

As they hopped out of the car, Jake swiftly jogged around the car to offer Sherry his arm, and she smiled softly at the gesture. Staying silent, the two walked towards their front door - Jake eagerly anticipating what was to come while Sherry remained oblivious.

Jake pushed his key into the lock and with a loud c_lick_ the doors lock opened, allowing them entry inside. Upon walking in the door, Sherry heard muffled shuffling from their kitchen, and quickly grew paranoid. She threw Jake a confused look, but he simple shrugged and walked towards the kitchen with her in tow.

Sherry hadn't noticed, but once the two walked into the kitchen, Jake had backed away, leaving Sherry in the kitchen alone. Sherry was about to walk straight out when she caught the familiar sight of Claire's bouncy pony tail from behind her island. Within seconds, about 20 people - both women and children - jumped up from hiding places all around the kitchen and yelled "Surprise! Baby shower!"

"I.. huh?" said Sherry, smiling at everyone who had seemingly appeared from nowhere. The group gave a soft unanimous giggle as they all saw Sherry's clearly confused face, even with her attempt to hide it. Sherry looked up and had to laugh at the banners that lined the kitchen. Since not even Sherry knew the gender of the baby, Claire and Jill had hung 'Its a boy!' and 'Its a girl!' banners, hung them together, and wrote the word 'Or' in between. Pink and blue balloons hung from the ceiling in both the kitchen and sitting room, and their was a large array of food on the kitchen island.

Peeking behind the group, Sherry also noticed a large group of presents on the kitchen table and only then, it clicked with her.

"A-all this is for me?" she asked in disbelief, smiling like an idiot.

"Of course it is! and now that the lady of the hour is here, lets get this show on the road!" said Claire excitedly. _Same old Claire, always happy._

Jill and Claire went behind her back and gently guided her to sit down in the sitting room while all the girls grabbed their presents from the table and followed. The kids that had attended with the few mothers at the party - including Jill and Chris' son Piers - immediately took the chance to explore the back garden. Meanwhile, Jake smirked at her surprise and felt pretty happy with himself. He felt even better when Sherry mouthed a _'Thank you'_ to him before he turned to go out to the garage.

Of course, Chris, Leon and Billy hadn't wasted a second in his garage, happily chatting among themselves, watching the game on the TV.

"He survived!" said Chris as dramatically as possible, being the first one to see him walk in. Jake shot him an amused look. "Whats that Redfield?"

Leon chuckled softly. "Jesus Chris if i hear the Jill baby shower story once more i'm going to hit you over the head with the wrench over there."

Jake chuckled and nodded in agreement. "Seriously! If i hear that 'I survived a full 6 hours with Jill's 3 sisters and their kids' shit once more i'll beat you with the entire took kit."

"It was 8 hours if anything." Chris corrected. taking a sip of beer from the bottle in his hand.

"So, you gonna go in later Jake?" Billy asked, finishing off his own beer. Jake leaned back to the mini fridge to grab another and throw it his way, which Billy caught without a problem.

Jake popped the cap off of his own battle and took a long gulp and sighed. "Yeah, later i guess. Is their a set time where its okay for me to go in? i don't have the slightest fucking clue how any of this works."

Leon shrugged. "Just go in when ever? Claire wants me to go in whenever you do, so." he said dismissively, not missing the odd glance Chris threw his way.

"Woah woah woah Kennedy, that's it." Chris began. "Whats going on with you and Claire? She's always on her phone texting you now, you took her out to dinner twice in the past two weeks, and i know you didn't spend the next at your _own_ apartment last night."

Billy and Jake both met each others confused stares for a minute then quickly turned their attention to Leon, who looked like a deer in the headlights. "Nothing Chris, nothing geez! we're just hanging out. What, we can't hang out?" he said defensively, but Chris brushes it off with a scoff.

"Yeah yeah, well try not to 'hang out' too much, i don't need you hurting her just because you want to 'hang out' you know."

Leon rolled his eyes. "Chris, we _both_ know i'm not that type of guy so you can relax."

"Okay!" Billy chimed in, attempting to distract them all from the awkward subject. "Jake, show us the Harley before a cage match starts."

"With fucking pleasure." Jake said, standing up from his chair and dashing out to the hidden part of the garage, gently wheeling out the newly washed Harley that shone the florescent lights off the rims beautifully.

Leon whistled appreciatively towards the motorcycle while the other two simply gawked at it in all its glory.

"Claire would faint if you showed her that." Chris stated, now standing up and walking over towards the Harley, though Leon was first, and Jake quickly backed off to allow his friend to hop on the saddle and get a feel for the machine and all its features.

"I'm sure Leon can show her later." Jake said with a wink that Leon scoffed at. "Whatever guys." he said, trying his best to ignore Jake and Billy's amused and badly concealed laughing. "Can i take this thing for a test drive?" he asked, attempting to override their laughter. Jake nodded and swiped away a tear, seemingly ending his chuckling there.

"Just don't crash it." joked Chris, which made the other two men burst out in laughter, no longer attempting to hide it for Leon's benefit, who was now practically fuming. "Ha." he sarcastically stated before starting up the motorcycle and quickly speeding down the lane and around the block, leaving the group of cackling morons behind, even if it was for about 10 minutes.

* * *

The day had gone very well, much to Jake and Sherry's delight.

Jake had given all the boys a ride on his beloved motorcycle, but being as over protective as he was, as soon as they all finished he immediately stored it away back in the garage. The men had joked and said that if Jake treated his kid the same way he did his motorcycle, he'd make a great dad.

Around 7:45 that afternoon, they had all decided to walk in and see how the party was going. They had walked in when all the presents had been opened, most of the hot food had been eaten and they were beginning to take out the more sweet things to eat, and even Jill had put on both a pot of tea and coffee since she had predicted the boys would be in as soon as the sweets were brought out.

As Chris dragged Jill into a hug, he was nearly knocked forward by his sons more than rough push to attempt to get his dad to fall over. Chris immediately turned around and chased Piers out to the garden, which made Jill laugh and roll her eyes at their silly behavior. She had always said Chris was an amazing father and Sherry never doubted it - he was great with both their son and Kids in general.

As everyone got up to grab some cake and sweets, Jake had taken the opportunity to drag Sherry away and give her her booster as she may have forgotten it given how busy the day had unexpectedly turned out to be for her, but to his surprise, Sherry had already taken it herself.

Once they had come back from the bathroom and had stuffed their faces with as much cake and sweets as had been available, it was around 8:30 and unsurprisingly - the children who'd attended were getting awfully tired, and the mothers had taken this opportunity to say their goodbyes and usher their children home.

Leon - much to the boys amusement - left with Claire about 5 minutes after Jill, Chris and a fast asleep Piers had left. Leon simply told Billy and Jake that their was no reason for leaving 5 minutes after, trying to tiptoe around the whole Chris issue, but Claire had outright told Sherry that she was terrified Chris would blow up about it.

It was around 9:30 when everyone was gone, and their kitchen and sitting rooms were officially clean, that they had decided to go to bed.

On the way up the stairs, Jake wound an arm around Sherry's waste and bent down ever so slightly to whisper in her ear - something she always giggled at because his breath always tickled her ear in a pleasant way. "I never gave you my present you know."

Sherry raised an eyebrow in curiosity and stared at him for a minute, waiting for him to elaborate, but when he simply stared at her smirking, she knew he needed a push. "Hmmm?" she playfully asked, pretending to be quite bored of the subject, while she was secretly excited. Jake's surprises were always amazing anyway, as she could see looking back on how the day had turned out.

"Come along m'lady." Jake said with every bit as much sarcasm as he could muster, and ushered her up the rest of the steps. "Did we get anything good?" Jake continued, not missing the cryptic look she flashed him.

"Uhm.. Jill and Claire got me a great stroller that i can jog with, so we don't have to worry about that, and Hunnigan and a few girls from the DSO went in on a car seat for the baby too, other than that.. just a few rattles, pacifiers, bottles and some other toys." she said, mentally checking off every item as she mentioned them.

Jake nodded. "So we got everything except for one."

"Hmm?" she hummed, not quite sure what exactly they had forgotten, and quickly went through their current inventory as far as the baby went in her head to see if she could figure it out before Jake pointed it out. _Crib, diaper changing table, blankets, jogging stroller, car seat..._

Before Sherry had even realized, they were in front of their new Nursery, and Jake motioned her to step inside by herself. Nodding hesitantly, she pushed the door open and gasped softly at the scene.

The changing table and crib had been fully put together, matress in, soft blankets folded neatly inside with a dog and cat plush in the corners of it. Jake had even painted the crib and table, transforming them from their light brown wood look to have a soft white coat on top, making it look more elegant. Though Sherry figured Jake putting it all together and arranging it so well was the surprise, she was proven wrong when she looked in the corner of the room.

A beautiful white rocking chair was pushed into the far right corner of the room, with light blue pillows on the seat and chair back, beautifully complimenting the blue covers of the crib and - wait - blue walls?

"Claire and Jill stayed late with me last night here, as soon as you fell asleep we met up here and got to work on the room. I know you wanted to paint the room together, but you were just so upset about the apartment that i thought id surprise you." he said, carefully striding towards her as she stood, marveling at all the gorgeously assembled furniture and the pastel blue walls.

"This is exactly how i pictured it Jake!" Sherry practically bounced with excitement, and jumped into Jake's arms immediately, stifling her giggles by burying her face into his neck. Jake smirked and squeezed her back - but not too much that he'd press her large stomach against him uncomfortable - which earned him a soft peck on the cheek and a flurry of thank yous that he had no way to stop.

"I'm glad you like it." he whispered, gently stroking her back.

".. are you getting nervous too?" Sherry said quietly.

Jake noticeably stiffened as the question left her lips, and for a split second, Sherry actually thought he wouldn't answer it for whatever reason, but surprised her by backing off of her and cupping her face in his hands, forcing her to look dead into his eyes.

"Sherry.. i was nervous i'll admit, for a really long time.. but i'm not anymore. I'm ready for this, more than ever." he said, turning the atmosphere completely serious, and it was then that Sherry knew that she had nothing to be nervous about, when she had someone as perfect as Jake around to help her every step of the way.

She knew with her hormones going absolutely nuts, she was going to be crying within a matter of seconds, so in order to hide her tears she reburied her face in his warm welcoming chest.

"Time for bed Sherry, Rebecca told me a couple of hours ago she wants to take a blood test tomorrow at 8 am."

Sherry nodded and with that, the couple silently walked towards their bedroom, got under the covers and fell asleep in each others arms, knowing that neither had anything to fear about their future and everything that was to come.

* * *

**I want to get maybe 2-3 more chapters of this out before i return to King and Lionheart, though if anyone finds that a bit unfair or anything to that affect, let me know through direct messaging or a review, thanks!**

**OOhhoohohoh *rubs hands together* just wait until you guys see what i've got planned.**


	14. Chapter 14

"Everything's normal. Your blood tests came back just fine and you definitely don't look as tired as you did before these boosters." said Rebecca with a smile, clearly happy with the progress she had made thus far. "I feel great too, so there's that!" Sherry happily beamed, sitting at the edge of the examination table. As she jotted down notes on a clipboard, Sherry took out her phone, smiling widely at the light up screen.

"Jake?" Rebecca asked with a grin, knowing all too well that it was. Sherry simple nodded and tucked the phone away after what Rebecca assumed was Sherry texting him back. "We're going out to dinner tonight, kind of a 'Yay we have a house' dinner."

"I didn't know people commonly had dinners for that." she replied with a laugh.

Sherry's phone chimed again and as she took it out, Rebecca turned to file away papers. Sherry was just finished with her most recent check up and Rebecca had actually been fortunate enough to get the day off as it was Billy's birthday, so the 2 had made dinner plans of their own. After Sherry's check up was finished, Rebecca had planned a hair appointment and a chance to pick up Billy's present, so she was quite excited about being finished.

"So its been nearly 5 months, have you felt strange lately at all?" Rebecca asked, asking the final few questions and then end the check up.

Sherry shrugged and laughed softly. "Not really, food cravings are all over the place and the baby chooses only to kick in the middle of the night and wake me up, is that strange?"

Rebecca smiled and shook her head. "I'm pretty sure it isn't." Jotting down Sherry's answer and dating it, Rebecca moved along to the next question. "And what about bad days?"

Sherry shrugged once again. "Rebecca, these boosters are so fantastic that i barely even know its a bad day when they come, i only ever feel a small pinch in my stomach on those days, otherwise i wouldn't even know if i was having one."

Jotting down the final point about Sherry's impressive progress, Rebecca sighed with relief, happy to know that things were going smoothly.

"Alright then Sherry! sorry we can't do the sonogram this week by the way." she apologized, though Sherry saw no need for it.

"Not at all! its your husbands birthday and there's no need to do it today anyway, theirs always next week - you guys should get our present in the mail tomorrow by the way!" Sherry happily beamed, happy to know that Rebecca and Billy were going to be taking it easy tonight.

She did feel generally bad knowing that Rebecca had injected to much time in to helping her and that meant ignoring Billy for the most part, so she was quite happy the couple would have some much needed alone time. Still though, she appreciated everything Rebecca had done for her, and was going to be forever in Rebecca's debt for the rest of her life for helping her out so much.

"Aw, you didn't have to send Billy a thing!" replied Rebecca, packing away her laptop and scattered notes.

"Just enjoy tonight okay? you need a break from me!" joked Sherry, getting up from the table and grabbing her purse.

As they walked out, Rebecca had called George Hamilton and informed him that she was leaving for the day, and he would need to make himself available to the BSAA's main medical bay in case anything came up for the night, which he inwardly sighed at.

"Not a night person?" Sherry asked playfully, attempting to get Rebecca's spirits up once again as she always did feel bad when she would ask George to fill in, which, to be fair, did not occur often, so he would just have to deal with it for the night.

"You could say that." Rebecca giggled as she put away her phone.

Once they reached the parking lot, Rebecca saw that their cars were in opposite directions, so to avoid getting a possible call over the week, Rebecca caught Sherry by the arm. "Shall we say Monday at 9 am for the sonogram? then another blood test after? i should be able to give you the final due date then, since my numbers will be more accurate the more sonograms i have to work off of."

"Sounds good! Thanks Rebecca, have a good time tonight!" Sherry said, waving at the bouncy medic as she strode off towards her car with a smile on her face, no doubt ecstatic about her free day and dinner tonight.

* * *

When she arrived home, she wasn't all that surprised to see Jake out with no shirt on, doing this that and the other to his precious Harley, as music played from speakers inside the garage - not too loud, but loud enough for Sherry to hear when she pulled up just outside of the garage, shooting Jake an amused look.

"Whats with that face?" Jake shouted over both the music and engine of the car. Sherry took her keys out of the ignition and hopped out of the car, once again meeting his confused stare.

"Its February and you're out here with no shirt on?" she asked, unable to control a giggle as she strode over to him.

Jake picked up a dirtied rag that lay on the tarmac and wiped his hands of the oil they were covered in, but it didn't do much to lift the dirt from them. "Its hot today and I've been out all day working on her, so i'm hot- why am i explaining this?" he said with a laugh and shake of his head, planting a soft kiss on his wife's cheek and bending down once again to - what looked like - tighten some sort of screw.

"On her? its a girl?" Sherry asked, amused she was annoying Jake in a subtle way.

"Yeah, i named her Sherry." he said with a wink. Sherry blushed ever so slightly when the words escaped his mouth and she couldn't help but smile like an idiot.

"Whys that?"

"Because she's high maintenance."

"Jake!" Sherry said in disbelief, slapping him on the arm while giggling, while he threw up his arms and laughed. "Sorry, sorry! i couldn't help it."

"You're impossible!" she said over her giggles, but couldn't help slipping back into them every time she replayed Jake's words in her head. "So when's dinner, wise ass?"

Jake whistled with astonishment. "Been a while since you called me wise ass."

"Too long, it should make a come back!" she quickly replied, feeling as if all that time spent around a sarcastic and witty husband had finally paid off.

"We leave around 6:30 since that basketball game is on in Riverview and traffics going to be insane, then the movies at 8:30 and we'll be back here for 11:15 or so - not too late since you should really be asleep by then."

Sherry bit back the urge to roll her eyes at Jake's constant worry and nodded, gently patting Jake on the back as he cursed when a screw came loose. "Sounds good, i'm going to go clean up for a bit then, we didn't clean all the glasses last night."

"Need help?" Jake asked, though inwardly chanting _no, no, please no_ in the hopes Sherry would spare him, and much to his approval, she shook her head.

"I've got it, i need something to do for a couple hours anyway."

"Alright, call if you need me." he said with a playful wink, returning to work on the bike once again, leaving Sherry to walk passed and into the house.

As Sherry cleaned and hand dried wine glasses, she was surprised to feel the odd kick in her stomach. Appreciating the company, Sherry simply giggled every time she felt a kick.

At about 3 pm, while she was making Jake and herself a sandwich, she noticed how the kicking had been non stop the entire time she had been in the kitchen. "Lively today." she laughed as she placed a hand to her stomach to attempt to soothe the baby, but to no avail as the child seemed to kick more every time Sherry placed her hand there.

"This is border line beating me up you know!" she remarked, gently stroking her stomach to see if that would stop the kicking, but again, no such luck.

"What did i do now?" Jake asked walked in the door, though the awful smell of dirt mixed in with sweat hit her before she even saw him.

"Not you, and my god do you need a shower!" she declared, handing Jake his sandwich, while she winced ever so slightly at the continued kicking.

"Whats wrong then?" he asked, taking an enormous bite out of his sandwich.

"The babies kicking me into submission." she replied with a roll of her eyes. Jake smirked and pulled her closer, setting down his sandwich on the worktop as he placed his other hand on her large stomach, taking a few moments to feel around before he left the source of the kicking.

"Wow, kids got quite a kick on him, maybe he's going to grow up to be a football player." he joked

"You know you're not gonna be happy when we end up having a girl!"

"Oh we'll see." he challenged, gently stroking Sherry's stomach before backing off and finishing off his sandwich.

"Fine then, wanna bet?" she asked playfully, interested to see how Jake would take this.

"Hmmmm?" me mimicked her usual hum of curiosity which earned him a rather amused expression, but she pressed on.

"If its a boy, i'll get up for the entire first week we have him without bothering you once to feed change and burp him. If its a girl, vice versa."

Jake cringed at the idea of him losing, but feeling pretty confident in the babies gender - only to be backed by the fact that the kid clearly had a strong kick - Jake accepted with the couple playfully shaking hands on it. "Deal." Jake announced, kissing her on the cheek before gliding past her to the stairs where Sherry could only hope he was headed towards the upstairs bathroom to take a shower.

When Jake was out of sight, Sherry returned to eat her own sandwich, only to be kicked mercilessly the entire meal by her baby.

Inwardly groaning with a smile, she placed her hand to rest over the source and hummed a tune, attempting to calm the child, which did after a while.

"Hmm.. too tired to keep kicking mommy?" she mumbled with a grin, now seeing as how the incessant kicking had boiled down to only the occasional soft kick. "Thank you little one." she finished before standing up to clear away her plate and finish off her cleaning.

* * *

It was around 6:15 pm when a loud groan could be heard from the master bedroom. The cause of which was that Jake had failed for a 4th time to tie his own tie. Frustration took over as he pulled the tie from his neck and threw it on the ground, only to be picked up a few moments later by an amused looking Sherry.

"Is it so hard to say 'Sherry i need some help'?" Sherry asked, throwing the tie around Jake's neck and fixing it around his collar.

Jake shrugged. "You seemed busy figuring out which shoes to wear."

Sherry giggled and nodded her head in agreement. Honestly, he favourite part about her new home was probably her closet. In her old apartment she had a small wardrobe that had been given to her by Jill before her and Chris had bought their own home back when she was still pregnant. The old thing could barely hold Sherry's clothes and the shoes were often in a huge heap at the floor of it, so with her new walk-in wardrobe, she could display all her outfits and shoes, making it very easy to see everything, and yet very hard to decide what to choose.

"Hey, i have my wardrobe, you have your Harley!" she replied, pulling the tie down and adjusting the knot, before backing off a few seconds later. "All done!" she proclaimed. "And don't you look handsome." she giggled.

She wasn't lying. Jake had gone all out in one of his very few suits for the nights dinner. Though Sherry had never told him, she had figured out a pattern to his clothing choices when it came to dinner. He would wear a nice dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up passed his elbows and pants if they were just going out to dinner for no reason, and he would wear a suit if they were going out to celebrate something like a birthday or - in the case where Jake had bought a new suit all together - their engagement night.

In fact, Jake was wearing that very suit tonight, something he hadn't worn since their 1 year anniversary, and Sherry had assumed he wouldn't until their 2 year, not that she was disappointed, that particular suit made him look perfect, reminding Sherry of a hot agent or spy she had once seen in some action movie Jake had made her watch.

Jake shrugged once again, throwing her a smirk. "Look who's talking Supergirl." he murmured into her ear, pulling her into a gentle hug. "You look stunning on that dress."

Sherry had decided to wear one of her nicer dresses for the dinner for no particular reason. It was a red party dress that had silk waves all over it, making it look very free flowing and doing an excellent job of not making her stomach look bigger than it was.

Usually, as soon as they would enter the restaurant, Sherry would say that she was cold and ask for Jake's jacket, so Jake never really got to see much of her dress while eating dinner, so he took in her gorgeous form right there and then, looking her up and down and smirking at what he saw.

Sherry blushed ever so slightly and took hold of her arm. "Come on wise ass, we've got a dinner to get to."

"Of course m'lady." he announced as the pair walked out of the room and down the stairs, flicking off light switches as they went.

Once they sat into Sherry's car, Jake heard her mumble a curse and undo her seat belt. "Whats going on Sher?" Jake asked, concerned there was something wrong with her.

Sherry looked up at him and must of seen the worry in his eyes, only to quickly giggle and set his worries to rest. "I left my purse and phone upstairs! i'll be back in a minute." she said, hopping out of the car and dashing into the house to grab the items.

After about 5 minutes Jake started to get impatient. It was now 3:40 and soon enough there was going to be an all out traffic jam because of the basketball game, so without much further thinking, he hopped out of the car and made a beeline for the front door.

Pushing the door open, he took a quick glance around for Sherry, but his eyes didn't see her. "Sherry?" Jake shouted. "We gotta go if we want to make the reservation!"

Met with silence, Jake instantly started to panic. Running up the stairs, he noticed the only sound was of his heart hammering against his chest. He didn't know what had happened that had made Sherry go completely silent, but he knew it couldn't be anything good.

Throwing open the door to their bedroom, his eyes searched frantically for her, but she was nowhere to be seen. Just then he heard a soft whimper coming from the bathroom. Running over and throwing open the door, he was met with the slight of a pale faced Sherry, heavily leaning over the bathroom sink.

"Sherry, whats going on!" Jake asked, panic seeping from his tone. Sherry was now violently shaking and Jake instantly ran over and settled her against his chest, allowing her to put some of her weight on him.

"M-my.. " Sherry began but Jake could see her fading, as if she were about to faint.

Just then, Sherry stumbled slightly, almost as if she had slipped on something. Looking down, Jake saw what looked like a puddle of water. Before he could even raise his eyebrow, he had put 2 and 2 together.

"M-my w-water broke." she whispered weakly before leaning completely on him.

Jake's heart suddenly hammered on his chest even more so now, making a loud thumping noise in his ears that was now thinking completely focus of his hearing, and for a moment he didn't think he'd move.

_The babies coming right now!_ he panicked before leaping into action without anymore hesitation. It was time to start the next chapter.

* * *

**I've been super busy, so please keep in mind that i'm doing my best to get these chapters out as soon as i can manage it, i have drawing and a personal life as well as a babysitting job so please be patient! **

**Thanks for reading, oooohh the fun begins now!**


	15. Chapter 15

_Panic._

That was all Jake could think about for a few moments before he realized what exactly had just happened. His wife was now only barely conscious and Jake was standing around as stiff as a board with her in his arms, pale as a ghost, trying to gather his thoughts.

_Stop fucking thinking and go! call Rebecca, get to a hospital! do something! anything!_

Shaking his head clear of all thoughts, Jake picked Sherry up bridal style and dashed down the stairs. Placing a barely conscious Sherry in the front passenger seat and strapping her in, Jake ran to his side, sat in and pulled out his phone frantically. Eagerly he searched his contacts for Rebecca's name and instantly hit call.

The few moments where she didn't pick up made Jake all the more jumpy, but after about 2 minutes of refusing to hang up, she answered. "Hello?" Rebecca greeted in a hushed whispered tone. Jake instantly felt a pang of regret when he realized she was out for dinner tonight for Billy's birthday, but the baby was coming and their wasn't anything he could do about it. _Sorry Becca._

"Rebecca its Jake! listen, Sherry's water just broke and she instantly fainted! well not _instantly,_ i mean shes kind of conscious but i mean shes not really responding, what the hell do i do?! if we don't-"

"Jake Jake! calm down!" Rebecca cut him off, though Jake was happy for it, he was starting to panic again. "Where is she?"

"Beside me in the car." Jake quickly replied, feeling extremely jumpy and more scared than he'd felt in a long time.

It was silent on the other end for a few moments. Jake heard shuffling and Billy's voice, but it was so muffled that he couldn't make out what either was saying. "Jake are you still there?"

"Yeah Becca." Jake nodded, glancing at Sherry every few seconds, feeling his heart sink every time as she seemed to be going paler and less responsive.

"Saint Josephs hospital, do you know where that is?" Rebecca asked.

Jake thought for a moment, recalling that it was a hospital about 40 minutes away and had been the hospital where Jake had gotten his cast taken off about 2 months ago or so, but frowned slightly at the travel time.

"Becca that's so far, and Sherry's really pale.. can't we-"

"Jake if we could then i'd tell you to go to the BSAA HQ but there isn't the proper equipment there, get to Saint Josephs now and tell them you're my patient, that should get you a special room. In the mean time.. make sure she doesn't fall asleep or go unconscious, keep her awake and responsive!"

Feeling his panic ease ever so slightly by the fact that he now had an objective, he nodded, more so to himself than anything. "Okay Becca, meet you there." he said, hurriedly hanging up the phone and starting up the car.

The 40 minute drive to the hospital very quickly had turned into about an hour and 20 minutes thanks to the game that was going on in town, was one of the scariest experiences of his life, and that was saying something.

To keep her awake, he refused to let her stop talking. Although most of the time she mumbled to him, barely forming coherent words, it was fine - she had stayed responsive through out the whole journey and for that, Jake felt more secure. She groaned every time he drove over a pothole or went over a hill, so he went slowly and tread more carefully once he saw how uncomfortable it made her.

Upon reaching the moderately busy looking hospital, Sherry nearly cried at the thought the pain of having to get out of the car. Seeing the tears already forming, Jake quickly unclicked her seat belt and lifted her out of the car bridal style, and quickly adopted a soft jog towards the main doors.

"Keep talking Sherry." he pushed as he carried her effortlessly towards the door in a rush, seeing how she was clearly in a lot of pain from her soft whimpering.

"It hurts.. " she gasped over what looked like a painful contraction. She groaned with pain but quickly buried her face in Jake's shirt to hide the noise from anyone near by.

"I know sweetheart, just a little longer.. keep talking to me, you're doing great." he urged as he felt her beginning to shake from not just the pain, but the realization of what was happening.

The minute she saw the hospital main doors open up for them, and the look of concern of the nurses strolling about the hospital, she wanted to cry. She was so afraid of what was to come next, that panic quickly arose.

"What if i don't survive? what if they baby doesn't survive? what if we do a-and i'm not a good mother?" she quickly gasped out, stumbling and stuttering over her words as a nurse approached them. Jake wasn't sure what to say for a moment. _Doesn't survive?_

The thought that either one might not live hadn't entered his mind, but now it was all he could think about. The fact that there was a chance that Jake could go home from this hospital with either a child lost or a wife was enough to make him scream, but before he knew it, Sherry was taken from his arms by a doctor and placed in a wheelchair.

Quickly jolted from his worries but Sherry's panicking, he quickly jogged after the rushing nurse trying to distract himself from such morbid thoughts. "W-we're waiting for a Rebecca Chambers!" Jake spoke urgently.

The nurse quickly nodded and turned into an elevator and urgently pushed a button for the 8th floor. Beside the button it read Maternity ward. Jake could suddenly hear the loud thumping of his heart in his chest. _Now's not the time to panic!_

Sherry grabbed Jake's hand and squeezed it tight as another contraction shocked her system and sent tears streaming down her face. Jake cringed and gripped her hand tight, silently reminding her that she wasn't alone, and right now, that meant a lot.

Once they arrived at the floor, they were instantly met with the sight of Rebecca Chambers in a gorgeous looking short mint party dress with a white scarf around her neck, looking both surprised and relieved to see the couple.

"Oh thank god! I thought something had happened!" Rebecca breathed a sigh of relief and quickly ushered them into a room just down the hall that was specially prepped for Sherry.

"Jake get her on the bed! Nurse Ryan, please call Doctor Hamilton and tell him that Sherry Birkin has gone into labor and we need him asap!" Rebecca quickly commanded as she turned to turn on some machinery in the room next to Sherry's bed.

Jake lifted her up from the wheelchair as gently as possible but Sherry still cried out with the pain. "I'm sorry Sherry, it'll be okay i promise." he murmured into her ear as he gently set her down.

"P-please don't leave!" she suddenly blurted out, holding both of his arms shirt sleeves in a vice grip before he could pull away.

Before Jake could answer, Rebecca interjected. "He can stay here until you're fully dilated, but when the delivery comes, he can't be here."

"Why?!" they both shouted at the same time. While Sherry was more panicked about him not being there, Jake was just fuming angry. "She needs me here! shes scared and i'm not about to leave her at the hardest part!" Jake continued, no longer trying to hide the anger in his voice for Rebecca's benefit.

Rebecca sighed softly and approached the situation with a more calm and relaxed tone. "Jake, we are not dealing with a normal pregnancy here. We are dealing with the G-Virus, and if the Umbrellas trials have taught me anything, its that this will not be easy. Sherry most likely will not be able to deliver this baby naturally, so we may need to have her prepped for surgery before shes dilated, we need to keep a close eye on her before i can determine wether or not you can be here so please don't make this harder than it has to be!"

Jake was a little surprised by her answer. While he was taken aback by how calmly she had approached the situation, Sherry was close to hysterics. "S-surgery?! no way! i can't have surgery! please i can't!"

"Sherry calm down! you're experiencing a high low right now where you go from extremely weak to fully alert, and you can't afford to be in too deep with either one right now!" she tried to calm her down, but it was no use, the tears were streaming down Sherry's face like a flood and suddenly she felt another painful contraction. All she could do was cry out with the pain, squeezing Jake's hand as it did its worst.

Jake gently stroked Sherry's back with his left hand and held her hand with his right, attempting to be as comforting as possible to her, and yet he still felt about as useful as a cigarette in a smoke free restaurant. His gentle caresses did nothing to soothe her as she cried out in pain, but it did feel Sherry feel more confident and comfortable, which certainly did help her right now.

A few machines clicked on and the hum of the machinery filled the air, though was quickly drowned out by Sherry's heavy breathing and sobs in between. Never in his life had he felt so useless. All he wanted to do was take Sherry's pain away, or at least soothe it in some way, but the only person who knew how to do that was Rebecca, so he promptly looked over to her, gripping Sherry's shaky hand in his. "Rebecca, isn't there anything we can do to make this more bearable on her.. ?" he asked desperately.

Rebecca frowned and grabbed a white gown from a small locker in the corner of the room, purposely avoiding eye contact. "Not until shes dilated fully.. until then, get her some ice and just do what you can to keep her comfortable. Oh, and don't let her fall asleep." She paused as her phone chimed, and upon reading something on the screen, she quickly walked towards the door. "I need to go brief Doctor Hamilton on what were doing before he comes in, do you want me to call anyone?" she asked in a rush.

"Leon and Claire if you can, they're the god parents." Jake answered, not taking his eyes off Sherry's shaking form.

"Will do." she answered before quickly running out of the room and down the hall.

For about 30 minutes, all Jake could hear was the hum of the machinery, and all he could see was Sherry shaking, gripping Jake's hand and the beds rail so tight that her knuckles had turned white, her eyes shut tight and small sweat drops forming on her forehead. Every now and then she let out a gasp followed by a few sobs. Jake tried not to let his thoughts trail back to the worry of possibly losing her or their child, but it was hard to ignore the elephant in the room and remain ignorant of the impending danger this whole situation it could bring for both his wife and child.

Sure he had been scared before of possibly losing either one, but his thoughts quickly convinced him that Sherry had the G-Virus to heal her if anything went bad, and that Rebecca was an amazing doctor. _So.. what if none of that is enough to save them? what the hell would i do if we lost our child? it'd crush Sherry.. and what if i lost Sherry.. then i-_

"J-Jake!" Sherry screamed as another contraction hit her like an extraordinary powerful wave of pain once again, always jolting her awake and causing her the worst pain of her life, over and over. _Nobody said this would be easy_ she reasoned bitterly.

"They're getting closer together." said a male voice from behind Jake. He didn't dare take his eyes off Sherry's face but he recognized the voice as George Hamilton's.

"Y-yeah.. " Rebecca nervously replied. The hesitation in her voice was more obvious than he would of liked, though thankfully Sherry seemed to of missed it as she was too busy sobbing out her pain. Jake protectively pulled her into a hug, gently stroking her hair as she sobbed as George approached her.

Jake shot George as unintentional glare as he approached Sherry and examined her closely.

"Sherry, how do you feel?" he asked.

Jake scoffed loudly. "Like a million bucks, how the hell do you think?!" _How do you feel? are you fucking kidding? and this guy is a doctor?_ Jake thought bitterly. George sighed softly. "Please Jake, i just need her to answer honestly for me."

"I can't breathe.. like i'm going to pass out any minute now.." she gasped heavily before speaking again. "L-like 2 people are pulling me apart and i-i.." she gasped for more breath but George nodded, effectively giving Jake the signal that he didn't need anymore. Jake then kissed her head and kissed the top of her head soothingly. "Its okay, its okay.. you're doing so good Sherry." he whispered in her ear gently, careful not to speak too loud since she was extremely sensitive right now.

George quickly turned to Rebecca and shook his head. Jake quickly ignored him and turned to comfort his wife. Gently, he slid one hand down to her stomach and began to softly stroke her all over. For a moment, Jake heard the sound of hushed whispered from behind him with Rebecca and George, though they sounded like they were having an argument.

Jake didn't care. He blocked it out. All that mattered right now was his wife and their child. As he buried his face in her hair, he felt a tear slide down his cheek from the pure fear he felt at the thought of these few minutes being there possible last. "I love you Sherry Birkin, you've been, you are and you will always be my entire world." he whispered, his voice breaking with every word.

Why did this feel like a good bye?_ Its not. This is just what needs to be said._ he silently argued with himself.

"Y-you promised me all those weeks ago you'd be mine forever and you'd never leave me.. please Sherry, don't break that promise." he begged her, now trembling from how horrible this all felt to him.

"I.. i.." Sherry whispered, though Jake noticed how her shaking was now slowly down completely, and that she had gone as pale as a ghost. "I.. wont.. " she mumbled before going completely limp in his arms.

"Sherry?!" he pulled up from her to analyze her face and felt the panic once again grip him and slowly drag him down, halting all his movements.

"Nurse Ryan and Nurse Puckett!" Rebecca shouted down the hall frantically. "We need this woman prepped for a C-Section under both me and Doctor Hamilton _now!_"

Before he allowed the panic to once again take over his body and render him useless, he scooped up Sherry in his arms and jogged out of the room. "Where do you need her Rebecca?" he shouted down the hall.

Rebecca turned and was surprised to see Sherry in his arms, but quickly recovered. "Follow me!" she called back and before he knew it, they were standing outside of an operating room. "Jake, i'll come out every hour on the hour to update you, as long as you promise me you'll wait in the waiting room and cause _no_ trouble." she stated. Jake slowly nodded, still trying to soak it all up.

"We'll do everything we can Jake, and we will do whats best for them both, i promise you that." she said before smiling reassuringly at him and stepping through the doors where she was quickly ushered to prepare for the operation.

Jake heard his heart hammer in his chest as he looked through the windows at both Rebecca and George putting on scrubs and gloves, and a team of 3 people already ready to go, prepping equipment. This is really happening.

"Sir, you can't go in there!" a nurse called from behind him as she wheeled a gurney towards him, which he quickly lied Sherry down on. Before she could dash into the operating room, Jake quickly grabbed her by her arm. "P-please.. take care of her.. " he hopelessly asked before letting her go. She nodded slowly and then before he knew it, Sherry was out of his reach.

As he turned towards the waiting room, he couldn't help but feel like he was losing something, but he hoped to god that that was simply just nerves.

* * *

The waiting room was empty aside from Jake, who sit off in a corner flipping through some sports magazine that didn't do a thing to hold his interest of even distract him in the least.

It had been exactly 86 minutes since the operation started, and yes, Jake had been counting the minutes. Rebecca hadn't come out like she had promised, but instead sent out one of the nurses to keep him updated. So far, all he knew was that Sherry was stable and so was the baby. It was something at least. Throwing down the magazine, he nervously paced the length of the waiting room, refusing to allow his thoughts to trail to a worst case scenario.

87 minutes.

Growling with sheer worry and impatience, he sat back down and picked up a new magazine, this time it was a national geographic. As he flipped through pages anxiously, he heard 2 people running up the hallway. Probably just another girl getting a C-Section. Wouldn't of been the first girl since Sherry had gone in, in fact, it'd be the 3rd.

"S-she said the 8th floor was maternity and the 9th was where was being operated on, right?!" a girl asked frantically.

Jake quickly stood as he recognized the voice to belong to Claire Redfield. He figured she was talking to either Leon or her brother, and was proven that he was right the first time when the two rounded the corner.

They 3 stood in silence for a moment until Claire ran up and enveloped Jake in a hug, which he graciously returned. "Whats going on now Jake?"

"Shes.. gone in for surgery now, and they're doing okay.. so far.. " he mumbled, keeping her in a tight hold for a few moments before letting her go. The hug was appreciated and he was eternally grateful for it, though he felt extremely sad when she pulled away and looked up at him with concern.

"Hey, we're here now, we'll try to make things easier." Leon stated, handing him a small brown bag which has warm to the touch. Raising an eyebrow to Leon, he simply stated that it was a burger and some fries since Rebecca had said on the phone how Sherry's water had broken before they went to dinner.

Jake suddenly felt a weight lift from his shoulders, and was extremely grateful that he had both Claire and Leon at that point, because he was pretty sure if they had never come, he would of gone insane.. or burst into the surgery within the next hour from sheer anxiety.

So, deciding that the company could only do him good, he sat and pulled the food of the bag. The moment the delicious smell wafted up to his nose, he heard his stomach growl and realized he was much more hungry than he thought he was, and took a big bite of the burger, savoring every minute. It wasn't exactly the steak dinner he had been planning to get all day, but it was exactly what he needed.

Leon suddenly stood up and marched towards the elevator, not before turning to the two and waving his cell phone in the air. "I better call Chris and Jill, let them know whats happening, though with Piers i have no idea if they'll be able to get here before tomorrow morning."

The two nodded and Leon stepped into the elevator and was gone with the close of the doors. Claire turned her attention back to Jake and smiled faintly. "So how are you doing?" she asked weakly, unsure of how to approach the subject.

Jake nodded and set his food aside, feeling a little better and more level headed now. "Yeah.. yeah, i'm fine.. just.. "

"Nervous?" Claire interjected.

"Yeah, that's as good a word as any." he mumbled.

Claire frowned and moved close to him ever so slightly. "Jake.. " she began in a soothing tone. "Our Sherry's a fighter, and that kid shes having? have we forgotten just who's kid that is? Jake, with your blood and Sherry's virus, the kids going to be indestructible!" she finished with a soft nervous laugh, that earned her a small genuine smile for Jake.

"Yeah.." he started. "Yeah, she is.. and our kid will be." he finished with a little more confidence, that made Claire feel just that little bit better.

Claire then switched topics completely, attempting to get Jake to stop worrying, and he wasn't the least bit surprised when she changed it to motorcycles. They talked about parts they needed, parts one had but not the other, parts one was willing to trade for a tune up and all sorts of things that came with being a motor head like Claire was, and Jake was slowly slipping into.

When Leon returned though, the two fell silent in wait of news. "Jill picked up, she said its too late to get anyone to babysit for Piers and Chris is still at work and will probably be there all night, so she'll see about coming by tomorrow morning."

The pair nodded and then quickly fell back to the motorcycle topic. While Jake knew Claire was only being this pushy about talking about motorcycles was because it stopped him from falling back into panic and was honestly a kind of welcomes pushyness. Leon occasionally joined it, but it became apparent fast that he didn't know as much about motorcycles as Claire did, which amused Jake.

Exactly 112 minutes later, there conversation had quieted down and now the trio were just talking about a bit of everything. Leon had told a joke that the pair were laughing at when Jake spoke up.

"So.. whats with you guys now?" Jake asked, dead serious.

That caught the two off guard as they had both stopped laughing suddenly.

"Well.. what do you mean?" Claire asked with a nervous laugh, clearly not wanting to talk about this for too long.

"Oh come on! whats going on with you two? you arrived together and then even before that at the shower you-"

"Alright alright!" Leon chuckled and threw his hands up defensively. Claire shot him a glare but he went on as if he hadn't heard it. "Me and Claire are going out."

Jake was silent for a few moments until he finally chuckled and nodded. "About time you two." he answered, which relieved the two to no end as they sighed and laughed. "Well good for you guys, you deserve each other." he finished.

"Thanks Jake.. and if you don't mind.. don't tell Chris." she nervously asked, though Jake could see why. Chris was a pretty ripped guy and although Jake was sure he could hold his own in a fight with him, he wasn't sure how well he'd fair if he was the one dating his sister and had to fight against a pissed off Chris about it. He then silently thanked Sherry for not having any siblings.

"Don't worry about it, i can unde-"

"Jake Muller?" a nurse asked from across the waiting room. All three turned there heads and when they realized who she was, they all stood eagerly and stared at her. The thumping in Jake's chest returned suddenly. Jake nodded slowly and balled a fist when he saw the nurse sigh hesitantly.

"We began the C-Section.. b-but there was a problem."

* * *

**I'm leaving for a week or two on Thursday to paint a nursery so i'll try and get a majority of the next chapter (or maybe all of it? OPTIMISM WOW) written tomorrow, so yeah!**

**For those who read this and my other fic King and Lionheart, i am _not_ abandoning it! its just taking a back seat while i get this finished! Thank you all for your wonderful patience, i hope you're enjoying what i have so far ; v;**

**Soooooooooo.. what do you guys think? boy or girl? ((or will we even get that far KEKEKEKEKE cough))**


	16. Chapter 16

The air filled with tension in an instant.

"What do you mean problem.. " Jake asked more calmly than he thought was possible after hearing what the nurse had told him.

"W-well.. " the nurse nervously began. "Doctor Chambers made the necessary incisions and we began b-but.. "

The way this nurse stumbled and stuttered was quickly getting on Jake's nerves and he found very fast that he needed her to get to the point or he'd start breaking things mercilessly. He must of unintentionally glared because before he knew it, the nurse flinched and sped up her explanation.

"Sherry and the baby are stable! But.. Rebecca made an incision and the G-Virus instantly healed the cut! just before i left, Doctor Chambers was sedating the womb to weaken it, so by the time i get back we should be attempting the same thing again, but if it doesn't work.. well.. "

"I can't listen to that anymore." Jake growled before sitting back down and nervously running his hands through his short hair. The nurse fidgeted and dipped her head slightly before adding that she would be back in an hour and running back to the operating room.

Leon and Claire looked at each other for a moment and then were quickly at Jake's side. "Jake it'll be alright. Look why don't we go for a walk around the hospital? we know that no news will come for another hour and it wont do us any good to be cooped up in the room twiddling our thumbs." said Leon, attempting to defuse the tension that wallowed in the room after the nurse had gone.

Jake nodded, all the while keeping his eyes focused on a tile on the ground. _Don't panic._ he chanted like a prayer silently. If he panicked, he could lash out violently, and then he'd break something and possibly put an end to Rebecca's hourly updates.

Jake silently stood up and allowed the couple to lead the way on this walk.

_The fresh air will do me good._ Truth be told, the smell of disinfectant was starting to give Jake a headache so he knew a quick trip outside would be good. Deciding it would eat more time, they decided to take the stairs rather than the elevator.

Coming down the 8th floor, the white sterile looking walls suddenly changed to a light pink and blue pattern, with smiling storks painted on the walls. _How did i not notice this before?_ While Claire and Leon seemed visibly nervous to let Jake continue on as the nursery for newborns was only just up ahead, they didn't stop him as he strode off in that direction. Leon let out a sigh and the couple followed him.

Jake approached a long window that gave him a clear view into a nursery and smiled softly at the sight of all the new born's. Some were sleeping softly and some were awake and staring at Jake with curiosity. Smiling at one boy in the corner who giggled at the sight of Jake, he wiggled his finger in a small wave to the little boy, who in turn laughed.

Claire and Leon had originally thought that upon seeing the small infants, Jake would lash out violently and demand to see Sherry and their baby, but he was remaining strangely calm. He rested his head on the cool glass which did a lot to soothe his throbbing headache, and watched all the infants with interest, as if he was analyzing them.

Claire smiled softly and approached Jake slowly, gently placing a hand on his shoulder and flashed him a grin. "Cute aren't they? soon enough there'll be your little boy or girl in there.. say, did you guys have any names in mind?" Claire asked with interest.

Jake continued smiling at the little boy and nodded. "If its a girl we were thinking Natalie, and if its a boy we were thinking Nathan." he stated, sounding more happy than he had since they arrived.

"Those are really nice names." Leon stated, now smiling at the little boy who was wiggling excitedly at the sight of the trio. "What do you think it'll be?" Leon continued.

"A boy definitely, that kids got a mad kick on him." he said with a laugh, which made the other two join in. In that instance, Jake forgot all about the possibility of how bad things could turn, and only had the image of him rocking his little boy to sleep as soon as he held them for the first time. Then suddenly, his mind was plagued with thoughts like _what would his first word be?_ or _will he be as strong as me or be a genius like Sherry? _

Claire smiled over to Leon once she noticed how Jake must now be lost in happy thoughts as he turned back to the little boy and smiled at him.

The three of them stood mostly silent for around 40 minutes or so, only ever asking the odd question here and there to each other like what time it was or was there a coffee machine near by, which there was. Claire fetched them all coffee and they decided to head back upstairs.

The taste was relieving and made him feel more awake than he'd felt in awhile. Checking the time, it was 1:48 am and Jake could see Claire and Leon were visibly tired. They yawned the whole way up the stairs and he could see that Leon was now supporting a majority of Claire's weight as her eyes fluttered and she shuffled down the hall.

"Why don't the three of us take a nap? the nurse will wake us if theirs any news." reasoned Leon, as he slowly set Claire down in a waiting room chair and settled beside her.

Leon nodded and settled beside Claire, leaning back in his chair he closed his eyes and before he knew it, he was fast asleep. He dreamed of changing his first diaper and messing up so badly that Sherry made him promise to never change one again and that she would always do it. Something that, once he woke up, made him chuckle.

He was about to close his eyes and fall back asleep, but stayed awake and alert when he heard someone approaching. He didn't open his eyes as he felt that the doctor or the nurse approaching would probably feel intimidated if they walked into the room only to see a glaring man, so for their benefit he pretended to be fast asleep, though kept his ears open in case they said anything regarding Sherry. Jake never heard the man come into the room but heard him stand just outside.

"Yes sir, i'm approaching the room. No movement yet, i'll keep you updated." a pause. "Yes sir, i understand." Jake then heard the distinct close of a phone and heard the man walk away. Jake opened his eyes slightly and frowned._ What the hell was that all about?_

He was about to stand up and follow the suspicious sounding man but instead was approached by the same nurse.

Jake jolted up from his seat just then. "Whats going on? did it work? is Sherry okay? please tell me shes okay.." Jake begged.

The nurse smiled softly. "Jake, there was a slight complication."

Jake's eyes shot wide open and he felt tears sting the back of his eyes. He knew what was coming. One of them was dead. He wasn't prepared for this.

"We got the baby out safely, congratulations." she stated.

Suddenly, he felt Leon and Claire behind him, eagerly awaiting her next words. He couldn't believe the words coming from the nurse, he thought his entire world had frozen for a moment. He felt reality crash over him when he felt Claire pull him into a hug and giggled in delight.

"Jake you're a dad! you're a dad!" she said excitedly.

"I.. i.. " Jake gasped for air over the overwhelming news. He was about to gasp out more when the nurse interrupted his train of thought. "Come with me, they'll be cleaning up Sherry soon and should have the baby all cleaned up by then."

Nodding ever so slightly, they trio followed her down the hall in a hurry. A million thoughts raced through his head as they approached. I'm a dad.. i'm really a dad.. wait, why didn't they mention Sherry?

He was knocked from thought when they approached Sherry's old room on the 8th floor, and heard the crying of a child resonating from there. He suddenly felt his heart clench in his chest as they got closer, and the crying more apparent. Suddenly, Jake felt a wave of Deja vu.

_This is just like the dream._

Fearing his child would somehow be taken away from him the minute he got to the room, he instantly broke out into a sprint down the hall, leaving a confused and worried looking couple and nurse behind him. He couldn't spare a second to wait for them, not when his child was up ahead. His child needed him. Sherry needed him. And lord knows that Jake needed them like he needed the air in his lungs.

He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Sherry in the room, though she was completely still. The rise and fall of her stomach as she breathed was slow, though the large breathing apparatus that was hooked to her was hopefully helping her. _Thank god._

Looking up, he spotted a smiling Rebecca, but noticed how tired and defeated she looked. Looking down into her arms, he felt his breathing catch in his throat, and suddenly choked out a sob. There, in her arms, was his child, crying frantically in Rebecca's arms.

He approached her slowly with caution, afraid this moment would somehow be ruined by someone or something, but as he stood in front of her and the crying toddler was placed in his arms, he knew that this would never be ruined, as long as he didn't let it. It was funny, he never thought he'd never felt like he could possibly ever love anyone other than Sherry in any kind of way, but the minute his child looked him in the eye and instantly silenced its cries, he knew he loved the baby in his arms more than anything in the world.

Suddenly the tears were pouring, and Jake had no way of stopping them. He had the most precious, perfect and fragile thing in the world in his arms and all he wanted to do was stay there forever with his child in his arms and do everything in his power to protect it.

"Its a girl." Rebecca whispered with a soft smile.

"A girl.. " Jake echoed, smiling widely as his little girl grabbed his finger with all her might, and for a minute, it was only him and his little girl in the entire universe. He wiped his tears on his shoulder sleeve and couldn't stop smiling at his little princess as Leon and Claire came up behind him and smiled down at her.

She had her mothers eyes and already has a small tuff blonde hair, but her strength and smile was all her fathers. There was a bit of them both in this precious little girl, and Jake was sure he'd never anyone more perfect than her in his entire life. Well, aside from his wife.

_Your wife._

"Rebecca, whats going on with Sherry?" he asked urgently, the sobbing coming to a stop and his smile vanishing. Rebecca's smile also vanished and she looked so defeated it brought back the horrible hammering in his chest, though his child's coo'ing did settle it a little.

"Shes critical right now Jake." she whispered, so sad that she was now ruining this perfect moment for him, but it was inevitable. "Right now.. i'm not sure if she'll make it through. We did everything in the ER, we really did. Anything we injected her with did nothing to improve her state. Her hearts been in a steady decrease for hours and right now its extremely faint."

Jake couldn't believe his ears. His beautiful wife may never see their little girl or him ever again. Rebecca was there miracle throughout these 5 months and now she couldn't do a thing to help his wife.

"S-so.. we basically watch her die?" Jake stammered out, the tears now falling again. Claire slowly took the toddler out of his arms as he was quickly growing angry and Jake was silently thankful Claire did.

Rebecca didn't look scared, both Jake and her knew that right now, he wouldn't lash out violently. He was a father now and couldn't keep having these temper tantrums whenever he wanted. He looked over to Sherry to see her struggle to breathe, and it was killing him. He ripped his eyes from her and looked back at Rebecca, hoping desperately that she had another trick up her sleeve.

"Jake.. all we can do right now is keep her hooked up to the heart monitor and.. hope for the best."

"Hope for the _best?_" he hissed, barely able to comprehend what she was saying. Was Rebecca, the miracle worker, now fresh out of ideas? Jake didn't allow her to respond, he simply walked over to Claire and took back his daughter, and sat by the bed, using one arm to gently rock his little girl, and the other to hold Sherry's dishearteningly luke warm hand.

Rebecca sighed softly. "We did everything we could Jake.. i swear.. lets just.. wait and see now." she nodded towards him but he didn't look away from his daughter once. She frowned at Claire and Leon who both offered her a reassuring smile and like that, she was gone.

Claire gently set her hand on Jake's shoulder and when she felt him stiffen slightly, she knew he was in no mood to talk.

"We'll be in the waiting room if you need us Jake." Leon said as Claire came around the bed to join him. They waited a moment for Jake to reply but when there came none, they walked out. They knew he needed time alone with her, and only a miracle could save her at this point.

As Jake rocked their little girl in his arms, he slowly began to work through all the information he had. _So, nothing Rebecca did had any effect on her.. _

When he looked back down to their little girl, he saw her eyes dropping. He spotted a small hospital cot in the corner of the room that would wheel over to them, but didn't want to let her out of his arms for anything. _She'd be more comfortable if she fell asleep in her dads arms._

Gently leaning down to plant a kiss on her forehead, he whispered "Good night princess." and smiled as her eyes closed and she fell asleep. Funnily enough, Jake actually found that he wasn't the least disappointed that he didn't have a little boy. He knew Sherry would definitely be happy, and that made him feel a little better.

He knew she wouldn't die. She'd survived so much in her life that something like this wouldn't be the end of her. It couldn't.

He felt like his world was slowly crumbling on him as the hours ticked by, and the heart monitors beeps became more and more infrequent. Leon and Claire came in here and there. Leon handed Jake a cup of coffee one of the times which he thanked him for. The next time they came in it was around 5 am. They just sat there and kept a close eye on Sherry, giving Jake the opportunity to sleep but he didn't falter. He had to stay awake for Sherry. They announced that they would head to Jake's house and get her and him some clothes for the next morning. Jake thanked them and they left.

He had to be there for her, she promised she'd never leave him, and as he held his new daughter close to his chest, he silently promised her the exact same thing. He wouldn't dare leave her until she woke up.

_If she wakes up._

_No. She will wake up._

Jake felt his little girl stir and smiled as she whimpered ever so slightly. Pulling the blanket a little bit tighter around her, he smiled and pulled her closer. "Sherry will be so proud of you when she wakes up, my princess." he whispered in her ear before kissing her soft head, ushering her back to sleep.

Maybe having a little girl wouldn't be so bad. He could imagine having tea parties with her, pushing her on a swing, dressing her up as a princess and hearing her say daddy for the first time. While all of that was good, there was still one fear that came with having a little girl.

"No dating until your 50." he whispered jokingly to his daughter, but he knew he was very serious. The thought of someone every trying to date his daughter was enough to turn him into one of those dads that sat on the porch with a shotgun just waiting for the boy to come. Though his little princess would probably have something to say about that.

"I can't just name you little princess, as much as id like to." he whispered more so to himself than anyone. What was they name they had agreed on? Natalie? Jake thought for a moment, looking down at her and saying the name over and over. After a while he scrunched up his face. He found the name didn't suit her. The name didn't mean anything to Sherry or Jake and his little princess deserved a name that held significance to both of them.

After thinking for a long few moments, he smiled softly. "I've got it." he whispered down at his daughter. "What abo-"

Suddenly, Sherry's heart monitor went off, like a deafening alarm that jolted their daughter awake and crying, and nearly made Jake's heart stop. The screen read 'DANGER' and Jake was pretty sure that he'd never been this scared.

Suddenly, Rebecca burst in looking more determined than ever, followed closely by Doctor Hamilton and 2 nurses. "Jake we need to get a team in here, get out to the waiting room fast!" she urged as she directed her team to and fro around the room in a flurry of movement.

Seeing now that his complaining wasn't doing anybody any favors, he quickly cleared out. When he arrived at the waiting room he wasn't that surprised to see the sun was rising, and that it was completely empty yet again. He gently rocked his daughter in an attempt to get her to calm down, and although it did take a good 5 minutes to get her calmed, he succeeded. Feeling a twinge of triumph that he had successfully calmed his daughters crying, it was quickly overshadowed by Doctor Hamilton walking into the room.

"Jake." George stated, attempting to get his attention, though it seemed he was purposely ignoring him. "Jake." he asked again, a bit more sternly this time.

"What?" Jake growled. George sighed at his agitation but knew that what was happening couldn't be easy for him so he decided to cut him a break. "Jake we need you to sign these." he stated, walking closer to Jake, though flinched when Jake turned right around and met his stare dead on. He didn't back down though, this anger was natural for the situation he was in.

"What is it?" Jake asked, taking the clip board he held up and quickly skimmed over the lines here and there. "Well its jus-" Jake cut George off immediately, reading a section from the papers in shock.

"Hold on. _'I, Jake Muller, will not press charges if Sherry Birkin passes away under the care of the staff of St. Josephs Hospital as she was high risk and o acknowledge that the doctors and nurses did everything in their power for her?'_ What the fuck? I'm not signing this shit! She's not going to die so you can take your forms and shove them up your ass." Jake shouted, throwing the clipboard at him and cradling his daughter close in his arms.

George sighed and shook his head in defeat. "You know what Jake?" but he never got to finish his sentence.

Rebecca burst into the waiting room with tears streaming down her cheeks and shaking horribly. The two instantly forgot about what the other was saying to listen to Rebecca, but she was gasping for breath over her sobs.

"S-she didn't make it."

* * *

**YAY i got through this chapter and posted it today, what a treat for you guys!**

**Heehee sorry for the cliff hanger, i'll have the next chapter up ASAP!**

**PS sorry about all the typos, i'll try to snipe them here and there!**


	17. Chapter 17

Jake felt as if his ears were ringing, and the world had stopped spinning. All colour had drained from the room (not that their was much to begin with.) and all that was left was Jake and the sniffling child in his arms.

Rebecca was gasping for air over her crying and George was attempting to calm her, but Jake couldn't hear her. He was pretty sure she was apologizing, but it didn't matter. None of it mattered.

Jake felt as if all the energy had been sapped from him, and it took all of his remaining strength to hold onto his daughter. Slowly, he pushed passed the frantic Rebecca and indifferent George to Sherry's room. The calmness that had taken Jake over was completely alien to him. He would of thought he'd of burst down the doors and murdered Rebecca for not keeping her alive (and George to boot, since Jake had never been too fond of the man.)

But this was new. Jake only felt numb. Like he had given up. He was mentally exhausted from this evening. He had been an edge for hours and hours to know of his and his daughters fate, and in a way Jake knew something bad was bound to happen, but to lose Sherry?

Jake was still sorting through how he even felt, and in all honesty, he didn't believe it. He half expected Sherry to run out of her room and envelope him in a hug and take their daughter and they would go home. But that was a fairy tale ending, and if life had taught Jake anything, its that fairy tale endings weren't for him.

His slow shuffling through the hall eventually led him to Sherry's room, and she lied completely still in her bed as she had done when they first arrived. No longer was she crying, begging Jake to stay. He felt a tear roll down his cheek as he watched her still form. _I'll stay Sherry._

Jake pulled up the chair he'd been sitting in before, shifted his daughter to lie cradled in his left arm, and clutched Sherry's hand with his right. Honestly, he was going through denial right now, but before he knew it, he felt the hot wet tears roll down his cheek, and slowly he felt the walls cave in, and the reality hit him like a hammer to the head.

He gasped for air as he felt her cold and limp hand in his, almost ready to get on his knees and beg her to wake up, but Rebecca's foot steps down the hall broke the silence, and then she was there, in front of their bed.

"J-J.. Jak-ke.. I-I'm so.. " Rebecca gasped up, barely able to hold back her tears. This was her worst fear come true, she had let Sherry down. She had let the exact thing that she had swore she wouldn't let happen to George all those weeks ago. All her work was for nothing. In all of Rebecca's life, she'd never felt so useless. She knew she had failed Jake and their daughter, and it was all her fault that Sherry would be leaving this hospital in a body bag.

Jake's lips stayed firmly pursed and he gave a weak shake of his head. His lips began to tremble as he purposely averted his eyes and she knew that moving Jake now would only cause more pain, and it wouldn't be necessary for a few more hours anyway. She did have to turn off the heart monitor that was no longer needed, but she knew Jake needed the space, and if she could just do one last thing for Sherry, it would be to give her peace with her family.

A family she will never meet.

Rebecca felt the tears in her eyes once again and choked back a sob. "I-I'll l-leave you alone.." she whispered and quickly turned her heal to walk out. Jake did nothing to acknowledge her, he merely stared into space and clutched his wife's hand all the more tighter, and rocked his daughter back and forth, fighting desperately against his tears.

She had run down the stairs sobbing uncontrollably when Billy had met her on the second floor and quickly pulled her into a hug, hushing the worst of her sobs. Once she had told him what happened, he was shocked. He always had it in the back of his head that Sherry and Jake were indestructible thanks to their crazy dads, and yet here they all were.

Billy brought Rebecca to the waiting room on the same floor as Sherry and Jake were and gently stroked her hair as she left her tears fall. He had nearly ushered her to sleep in his arms about 20 minutes later when he felt something vibrate underneath him. Shifting to find the source, he pulled out a touch screen phone that looked familiar. _Jake's, right?_

He saw on the screen that Leon had left a text. _Back in about an hour, traffic is crazy._

Frowning, Billy internally wished it would take them longer. Claire was going to take it the hardest, she had always treated Sherry as her own daughter and they had even lived together for 2 years after Sherry got out of government custody. Leon had also trained Sherry himself once she tried out for a field agent and she didn't get it. They had trained long and hard and when she was finally accepted, Leon had looked more like a proud father than a friend.

It was an understatement to say they would be brokenhearted. Sighing and burying his face in Rebecca's ruffled hair, he drifted to sleep and hoped that all of this was just a nightmare that they'd wake up from.

* * *

It had been 2 hours and Jake hadn't moved in inch. The pain had come slowly, like a nail slowly being twisted into his skin. The more he clutched his wife's cold hand, the more he felt his own heart break. _Why wont she hold my hand? She said she'd never leave me._

"Sherry." Jake had said finally, though it came out as a bare whisper. Sherry lied silent, as she had done for the entire time.

"Sherry." he repeated, with more force this time. He was desperate to hear his wife's sweet voice. Silence.

"Sherry, please.." Jake whispered, shaking his head in disbelief. He saw his own tear land on Sherry's hand. "You said you'd never leave me Sherry.." he stated, crying more our of utter frustration and anger than sadness.

He had gone through this with his mothers death. At first, he had felt nothing, only numb while his mind slowly worked to put the pieces together. Then he was angry, both with himself for being useless and his mother for leaving him, and then would come the near crippling sadness. Settling down from his anger, he sighed and gently petted his daughters head as she whimpered slightly from hearing her fathers stern tone.

His little princess had cried only once, though Jake knew she was only hungry. Silently, a nurse had strolled in and handed him a bottle about an hour ago. Jake guessed she was sent in by perhaps Rebecca or George, because she didn't say a word to him, and he was eternally grateful for it. Silently, he had slowly let go of Sherry's hand, letting out a choked sob as her hand did nothing to stop him, and shifted his focus to feeding his daughter.

He felt even worse when he saw how his new born daughter gulped down the lukewarm milk. _I haven't even been a father for a day and my daughters already starving._ When she finished, Jake held her up and gently patted her back until she let out a soft burp. He felt himself smile ever so slightly at his daughter, but it instantly fell to a frown when his eyes wandered over to Sherry's pale complexion.

Nearly 2 hours later, nothing had changed.

Jake's daughter was wide awake and cooing away at her daddy but he could of easily been mistaken for a statue. He stared into space for hours, never allowing his mind to process the fact that Sherry was dead, then that would make things all too real.

Jake quietly reflected on his life after meeting Sherry and how it had all shifted for the better. No longer did he have to feel like everything was his fault day in day out. Sherry knew the pain he felt from having a psychotic father and the loss of parents, as well as the guilt of it all. She made him feel like a human being again, not just someone who caused problems for everybody. She had given him the tools and chances to be a better person, and thanks to her, he used them to the best of his ability and had come a long way.

Thanks to her, he had experienced true love, loyalty and trust with another person. He had found a best friend, a lover, a wife and a soul mate in her. They had lived together, laughed together, cried together and protected each other in a way no human being would ever be able to do for the other person. They were both incredibly unique and diverse individual human beings that they both knew that their bond was meant to be from the beginning.

Maybe their psychotic dads weren't all that bad.

Sure, they were both bat shit crazy (to put it delicately.) but if it weren't for their brains, their research and umbrella, Jake was sure they would never had met, and that they may be completely different people all together. And besides, Sherry had only ever spoken of her father fondly. Sherry's close relationship with her father always made him feel slightly envious. Though, was that because he wanted to know Albert Wesker, or that he had just wanted a father in general?

This, Jake wasn't sure of. He knew he hated Albert Wesker with all of his being, but was he always a bastard? Jake's mother had always spoken fondly of Albert Wesker, saying he had been a perfect gentlemen and that he would be back someday for them. He had always passed those kind words of hers towards him as demented, but never spoke a word against her, though, over time, did he really let himself believe that?

Sure, maybe before he had met Sherry and Chris and Leon, he let himself believe in some way that his father wasn't a deadbeat and that he was just too busy for him and his mother, but when he met with her and the BSAA on that faithful day, he had slowly began to learn that Albert Wesker wasn't exactly all sunshine and rainbows.

Still though, even knowing everything he knew about Albert Wesker, a small part of Jake did still wish that he had gotten to meet him. Wether that was to beat his ass to a bloody pulp or get to know him was rather uncertain though, probably a mixture of both depending on Jake's mood at the time. Though now that Jake was officially a father himself, he couldn't understand why any man wouldn't want this. His daughter was so precious and fragile that he couldn't bare the thought of even allowing her to sleep in a hospital cot, let alone leave her completely. He had a desire to never let her go and to always tell her he loved her.

It was then that Jake allowed his mind to wander to questions. Had Albert Wesker ever held him? Ever smiled at his mother as the couple smiled at their new born son? Did he really love Jake's mother? Or even him? Did Wesker _know_ about him? Or did he just leave once he was finished with her for the night, say 'i love you' and disappear forever? Jake frowned as the last and more stark question was probably the one that held the truth.

Alas, Jake would never truly know. The truth behind his mother and fathers relationship would forever remain a secret, and Jake was just going to have to accept that.

In the distance, he heard Claire let out a choked sob, and knew that they had heard the news. It was Claire's realization that ripped him from his memories and questions, and threw him back into the present, holding his dead wife's hand. No longer able to chase away worries or pretend that everything was okay was his breaking point, and as he took one more glance at Sherry's still body and stroke her still lukewarm face, he let out a gasp that was quickly followed by tears. He brought his tiny daughter up to rest on his chest as he gave her a squeeze and let all his pent up feelings out at once. His wife was gone. Their daughters mother was gone.

It was too awful to think about. He couldn't go home without her. He knew if he saw his house now it would kill him. Sherry had designed it, Sherry had picked out colours. Sherry had laughed on the couch with him, she had made dinner in the kitchen, she had slept in their bed.

It was too much for him. Maybe he could stay with Leon or Claire for a while, just while he sorted out everything. They would get his clothes for him a-

_Beep._

Jake's head craned to the left ever so slightly to see Sherry's heart monitor's warning message had gone from 'Deceased' to 'Critical' and the straight line had a single small bump in on off to the left.

_What the hell?_

Jake slowly rose to his feet and stared at the machine as it showed what Jake could only describe as the impossible. _Was that a heart beat the machine had just recorded?_ Standing firmly in front of the machine, he silently begged for the straight line to record another bump, and after a few moments, it actually did. Gasping ever so slightly, Jake jolted up to run out and grab Rebecca, but to his amazement, she had run in herself.

"Jake, my phone sent me a critical message for Sherry from her heart monitor.." she whispered, her eyes staring directly at Jake, but they shifted to see the heart monitor and the 2 small bumps that were fairly far apart on the machine.

"T-they only just came up now, i swear!" Jake said in near disbelief as they stared at the machine together.

_Beep._

"O-oh my god her hearts started again!" Rebecca nearly shouted, a wide grin suddenly taking her over and she nearly squealed from the happiness. She didn't know how, and was pretty sure it was impossible, but Sherry had come back from the dead!

"George, get me a brain wave monitor now!" she shouted out the door. "We have a faint pulse from Sherry! We need every second recorded!" and with that, she adjusted Sherry's bed to have her leaning up and quickly worked to flick on and adjust machinery around the room.

Jake let a small smile creep up on his face and kissed his daughters forehead. "Your mommies a fighter." he whispered, nearly letting himself chuckle at the statement. Sherry was so stubborn, not even death had its way too long. She didn't look any different before, and hadn't moved a muscle, but Jake was relieved. She was back with them.

Just then a nurse approached Jake but before she could open her mouth, George had walked in and stood between the two. "No need to usher him out Sarah, hes her husband and i think hes spent enough time in the waiting room for one life time." he said with a smile in Jake's direction, silently nodding in a sort of apologetic manner.

Jake held an expressionless face and nodded back. Maybe the prick wasn't so bad after all.

What was with all of these revelations of not hating people anymore? Jake peeked down at his daughter who had drifted off to sleep and gave her a gently cuddle, lying her on his chest and having her head rest just under Jake's chin. "I think you're melting my heart all the way down little princess, and here i thought Sherry had already gotten rid of all the ice."

Claire and Leon had come in to comfort Jake in his difficult time, but he had nearly shouted the good news upon seeing Claire and Leon sobbing in the door way. The two had sighed in relief, thinking Rebecca must of just slipped up and just made a bad call, but Jake knew better than to think that. Sherry had died, she had died and been dead for hours. It was almost as if she...

Just then, Jake's heart stopped, and he felt the tears sting his eyes.

Rebecca had caught Jake's sudden shift in posture and almost as if she had read his mind, she smiled weakly and shook her head. "Jake, Sherry wont turn. She's not infected, so don't worry. The G-Virus is obviously doing this, its the how that we're going to find out, your wife is back with us Jake." she said reassuringly.

Jake smiled and let out a long sigh of relief, and felt a single tear slide down his cheek. Now all he had to do was sit and wait he supposed.

* * *

As the hours ticked by, Jake had alternated between walking down the long halls of the maternity ward, to up and down the stairs, to the waiting room, (now permitting Claire and Leon a better look at her, and Leon and even Billy got turns at holding her and 'aww'ing' at her coo's.) to outside, back to Sherry's room, sitting there to feed and or change her, and repeat his route.

As they walked, nurses and doctors alike smiled softly at the two, as Jake had taken to telling her story after story on their walking route about Sherry and Jake's meeting, adventures, Christmas', vacations, their wedding and engagement, having her and everything in between. He quite enjoyed her occasional 'goo's' and 'gaa's' at his stories and found that Sherry would most likely have to shoot Jake just to get the little bundle out of his arms.

Jake was stopped by the occasional nurse as they 'aww'd' at his daughter and asked for her name, to which Jake had replied every time: "Me and my wife haven't found one that's good enough yet, but i have a feeling she'll like the one i've been thinking of." the nurses would then giggle and say their good byes, to which Jake would pick up his daughters tiny hand and do a small wave in their direction.

He found himself to be very giddy now, as it was now the early afternoon of the following day and Rebecca's reports had been getting slowly better. Keyword being slowly.

Sherry's heart beats were getting more and more close together, and Rebecca guessed than in another hour her heart would be beating as strongly as our own. Her brain was showing activity, her face and lips had regained their colour, and Jake found that with every progress report, he felt better and better about absolutely everything. Ecstatic to introduce their more than perfect daughter to Sherry, Jake found himself walking around the waiting room as Claire and Leon trailed not too far behind, staring at what they thought was the cutest little baby they had ever seen.

Jake cringed ever so slightly when Leon asked to hold her again, but deciding it would give his arms a break, he allowed it. As he sat down for the first time in about an hour, he suddenly felt his entire body become far too relaxed than he wanted and suddenly he felt his eyes grow incredibly heavy. Deciding that Claire and Leon were the god parents and would only take the best care of his daughter, he knew that some sleep would only do him good. He allowed the sweep of exhaustion to take him, and before he knew it, he was fast asleep.


	18. Chapter 18

At first, Sherry had felt as if her entire body was on fire, being ripped apart by the flames as she felt something being taken from her and then a painless darkness took over. The pain of the flames had been replaced with a never ending darkness that fogged her vision completely and never allowed her to move an inch away from it.

When she thought about getting away from the darkness, it had seemed to only plunge her further down, but after a while she began to think about it. Could she accept this darkness? _Yes.. maybe._ She saw no reason to fight against it. She was all alone in the darkness, so why not just accept it and plunge further into it?

Sherry felt as if time no longer affected her. She wasn't sure how much time had passed since her body had felt on fire, or she had sat in the darkness - it had felt like mere minutes - but for some reason she didn't really care anymore.

She tried hard to think of a reason to not give up, but she was so tired that it just seemed like the easier option. Thoughts seemed to fade more and more into darkness until finally she could no longer process any information. Occasionally she heard a masculine voice calling her, but she couldn't place it. She felt a warmth on her hand for a few seconds every now and then until it turned cold and wet.

She faintly whispered "Rain." upon seeing 2 water droplets slide off her hand. She became all too tired too fast when she tried to think about where said rain had even come from. _There's no point._

After a while of Sherry's eternal darkness, she realized she wasn't actually afraid of it. None of it was scary actually, just lonely and a little boring. In fact, it was all soothing in a way.._ it would be so easy to fall asleep forever._

She allowed herself to lie on the ground and close her eyes. It was okay to give up. What reasons were there to keep going? this eternal darkness was all she had. All she had to do here was sleep. Sleeping was easy, and its what she wanted.

After a long long nap, Sherry felt certain senses return to her. She slowly found her ability to think clearly and freely return, and that in turn, fueled all other actions. Her body ached, but she was able to control her limbs, and as the hours (or what seemed like hours, Sherry couldn't tell) ticked by, she found that moving became easier and easier.

She slowly rose to her knees and her eyes went wide with shock. _Something important has happened, is happening or will happen, something.._ She sighed in frustration upon reaching a mental block.._ I'm missing something_. She felt as of something had knocked out something important out of her head, but what was it? In a last minute attempt to jog her memory, she began listing random information to see if anything would remind her of what she was missing.

_My name is Sherry Birkin. My parents are William and Annette Birkin. They died in Raccoon City. I'm a field agent for the D.S.O. My husband is Jake Muller._

Jake? was that what she was missing? _No._ Jake, while usually was the center of her universe, didn't seemed to be the source of Sherry's mental torture.

_My best friends are Claire Redfield and Leon S. Kennedy, and have been since Raccoon City._

"This is getting me no where." she hissed, but pressed on anyway.

Suddenly, Rebecca Chambers muffled voice could be heard in the background of her mental wrestling match. While it was muffled, Sherry swore she'd always be able to recognize her voice anywhere. It was sweet and slightly high pitched, just like her own.

_Is it to do with Rebecca.. ? Yes?! .. No.. ? kind of then? kind of._

Sighing, she smiled at how she was now getting somewhere.

_Reb_e_cca Chambers was a field medic for S.T.A.R.S back in the day, but now shes an on-call doctor for the B.S.A.A and D.S.O.. that's it! wait.. what was it?_

"Was i seeing Rebecca.. as a _patient?_" Sherry whispered, thinking the worst; was she badly injured after a mission? _No._ Was she dying of some disease? _No._ Was she infected? _No._

"Then what is it?" she asked the darkness desperately. Her seemingly innocent darkness was now taunting her. It was as if the darkness was playing 20 questions with her. With determination plastered on her face, she nodded towards its depths in a challenging way.

_Fine, i'll bite._

_"_Am i Rebecca's patient?"

_Yes._ An instant answer every time.

"Am i sick?"

_Yes._

"What's making me sick?"

Silence.

_What, is the darkness only going to answer yes, no or maybe?!_ _the god damn darkness is toying with me!_ Sighing in frustration, she ran her fingers through her hair and tried once again.

"Will i die?"

_No._

She nodded, mildly happy at the confirmation._ You're talking to pitch black all around you and you're trusting its judgement?_! Sherry silently agreed and then immediately smiled straight after. She was gone insane if she was talking to the dark and a voice in her head. _Was that it? did i crack and go bananas?_ Nah, even _that_ sounded a bit far fetched for her.

"Did someone try to hurt me?" she suddenly blurted out, drawing from a conclusion that she had been on a mission and was probably hurt. It wouldn't of been the first time she'd woken up in Rebecca's medical ward, covered in blood._ That's gotta be it!_

_Yes. _

A squeal of delight slipped through her lips unexpectedly. So she had been on a mission? hmm.. that was strange. She didn't remember being on one.

She silently recalled Jake going on one. "But.. i don't think i wanted Jake to go.. "

_What?_

"No.. no that's right.. i didn't want him to go."

_Why?_

Was the darkness playing with her again? the slightly more stern male voice had shifted to a soft feminine voice, sounding quite concerned.

"I.. i don't know."

_You do._

"But i don't.. i really don't.." Sherry answered hopelessly.

_You do._ the female voice answered a little more sternly.

"I don't! I don't! I don't, really!" Taking in a deep breathe, she let a few tears fall unexpectedly.

"I didn't want... Jake to go because.. i-i couldn't go.." _Was that it?_ Suddenly the words were just pouring out of her mouth. She was no longer in control of her body as it blurted out words she couldn't even control or stop.

The darkness got a tone lighter, completely shifting the world, and with that, the voice shifted back to male.

_And why is that?_

"Because i was pregnant!" she roared much louder than she thought she could, and that seemed to completely deflate the darkness, and replace it with a blinding white light. Everything hit her like a bus. What had happened. What was happening. What will happen. And with that, the world rushed to devour her, and then there was nothing.

* * *

"Her pulse spiked!" George yelled down the hall to a sleeping Jake that jolted straight awake. _What fucking time is it?_

Looking up, he saw it was 10 PM and sighed. It had taken Sherry a lot of time, but she had been showing so much progress that it made Jake feel, dare he say it, lighter than air. Directing his attention to Claire and Leon, he saw that they had brought out the cot on wheels from Sherry's room and had his daughter asleep in it, while the pair and fallen asleep themselves. He scoffed at how uncomfortable she looked without her dads arms around her. Oor how uncomfortable Jake _thought_ she looked.

_She'd be more comfortable with me._

Slowly, he picked her up, careful not to wake her up. He adopted a soft jogged towards Sherry's room, making sure to only keep his daughter at a light bounce to lull her into a deeper sleep rather than to wake her up from it. Upon walking in, he couldn't help the wide grin that he took up upon seeing the rise and fall of Sherry's stomach as she breathed properly, and the colour that had returned to her cheeks.

"See little princess? your mother is fine." he whispered, kissing his daughter gently on her head. Rebecca adjusted something on Sherry's heart monitor and smiled in Jake's direction. He nodded back, practically giddy at Sherry's progress.

"Rebecca, this is simply impossible." George whispered as he looked over a progress report on what Jake presumed was Sherry over the last 2 days. "She died! all her organs failed to respond and her brain showed _no_ activity. She's not turning or even infected with anything, in fact she's making a full recovery. From death! how is this even possible?"

"I think we owe William Birkin's G-Virus strain more credit than we originally gave it." She said, smiling like an idiot. Though Jake knew that Rebecca had no _real_ answer. Not right not anyway. She had taken about 2 samples of Sherry's blood from 3 different parts of her body and had made it a priority to have it studied in the earlier hours of the morning, so all day she had been proclaiming of how great and miracle like it was.

Jake, utterly surprising himself, found he had to agree. Funny, how he never thought he could actually believe in a fairly tale ending, seemed to be getting that exact place in a story book. Maybe Rebecca was some sort of fairy god mother trying to repair what was nearly a broken family, and watching over them.

_Jesus, i'm going to need to spend some serious time with my fucking Harley to get my testosterone back up._

"Anyway Jake, she should be awake soon.. " she whispered, watching Sherry with a smile. Sherry was something else. To call her a fighter was an understatement. With all she had gone through in her life and _still_ well and kicking.. a skillful warrior was more appropriate.

"Rebecca, we should get to the lab, Jason's informed me that they have the results." he said, looking up from his phone to Rebecca and Jake.

She nodded mutely and was about to walk out when Jake swiftly caught her by the arm. Swallowing, he took a deep breathe and sighed.

"I'm sorry about earlier Rebecca.. " he whispered, not meeting her eyes. He kept full focus on his daughter as he bounced her gently up and down, though he could feel the happy energy practically flowing from Rebecca. A soft smile graced her face and just when Jake look up, she enveloped him in a gentle short hug.

Jake chuckled softly and mumbled a "thanks", knowing that her hug was an acceptance of his apology, and off the two doctors went, leaving Jake alone with the two most important people in his life.

Sighing, he took his usual seat and gently rocked his daughter.

After a mere 5 minutes, Jake got rather bored with the silence and decided that he'd grab his phone and maybe text Chris or Jill to let them know what was happening, but in that instant, Jake felt his daughter shift in his arms and let out a short small yawn, and he smiled as she came fully awake. _See, shes not crying because her daddy has her._

"Good morning little princess." he whispered, just in case she decided to fall back asleep, but she seemed to brighten up at the sight of his face. Jjake couldn't help but notice how alert she was. When she woke up, her head whipped to her right and straight up about twice in the span of 5 minutes, eyes scanning the room for something Jake wasn't sure of, but smiled all the same.

She has her parents paranoia already.

"Its alright princess, i wont ever let anything or anyone dangerous even touch you." he whispered. Her eyes darted up at Jake's face and she giggled, smiling for the first time.

Just then, Jake smiled wider than he had in a longer time._ Even her smile and laugh is perfect._ He gently stroked her cheek with one finger and leaned back in his chair to get more comfortable and sighed.

"Good dads tell their kids stories right?" he said aloud down to his daughter who seemed content in rocking back and forth in Jake's arms, but he felt the need to provide some form of entertainment for her. He just wanted to be a good father, even right off the bat. Even if she couldn't truly appreciate Jake's amazing story telling, he decided to continue anyway - if only to blot out the suffocating silence that enveloped the room (Save for the manly beeps of the machines around them)

_I've never told a children's story in my life._ He frantically thought, suddenly caught for words. _Maybe some Disney story? nah, too girly. But then again.. she is a girl._ Not wanting to be caught by anyone retelling something like Cinderella to a baby that had yet to even see outside these hospital walls, let alone appreciate a story such as Cinderella. _Why not something to do with a princess though?_

Jake smirked, thinking of the perfect story.

"Once upon a time, there was a princess named Sherry, and a knight named Jake." Jake inwardly cringed, and had to stifle a chuckle from how ridiculous he sounded, but knew that this was the first of many mushy gushy stories, and besides, he had already a plot in mind, so why not continue? it'd take up time anyway.

"On Christmas eve, the knight had decided to hide away from the festivities and happiness of the world by taking refuge in an old house with nothing but an apple." _and a booster shot._ He smiled slightly and continued.

"See little princess, this knights heart was covered in ice, and saw the world as a cold place that wasn't suited for him. He never wanted to hurt anyone, so he locked himself away where he didn't think he'd be found." he paused to adjust his daughter to lie on his chest as he lied back, making himself more comfortable.

"But little did he know, that the princess had been sent by the gov- the.. king to find this knight, because he was very special. See, because of the knights ice cold heart, he had spent his life devoted to fighting, and because of that he got very strong. It was because of the Knights strength that the princess seeked him out." _Yeah, and my blood._

"When the princess and the knight met, the silly knight didn't actually know how important she was, so he was rather rude to her. On their long journey back to the palace, he would often laugh at her pain or make rude comments, but the princess was very special, and never left his side. The journey was quite long, and they encountered many monsters on their path, but the worst of them was the usta-" _Something more child friendly muller._

"The.. evil goblin that was trying to hurt the princess, but as the princess and the knight traveled, the knight realized that the princess had not only melted his icey heart, but had made him stronger and more brave. When the evil goblin attacked them on the path, the princess gave the knight all the courage he needed to defeat the beast and with a swish of his faithful sword, the evil goblin.. disappeared. " He smirked as his daughter gripped at Jake's fancy dress shirt and tugged at the buttons.

"When they made it back to the palace, the knight was shocked to find that Sherry wasn't a knight like he had thought, but the princess. In truth, the Knight had always loved her. It had all began on Christmas eve and as the days went on, the knight couldn't help but feel the need to protect his princess. They got married a year after returning from their journey and had a beautiful daughter together, and lived happily ever after."

Jake chuckled softly and allowed a comfortable silence to take over the room once again. "We should expect my Oscar any day now."

"You gave me a boring part." he heard from in front of him suddenly. It was as quiet as a whisper so he only barely caught it and sounded as if her throat was sore, but he was so shocked that it nearly knocked him from his seat.

Sherry's eyes hadn't opened but she had a soft smile on her face and Jake suddenly felt his heart hammering against his rib cage.

"Sherry?" he whispered, slowly readjusting his daughter in his arms and slowly standing, looming ever so slightly over Sherry's still body.

"Hmmm." she hummed in response, probably too tired to respond properly. Jake didn't care though, she was back. His wife was alive and well, and he had his family right where he wanted them all.

He smiled widely and sat back down, not saying another word. He'd give her the time she needed to wake up and speak up herself. Jake then stood and filled a plastic cup with water, realizing that it might soothe her voice a bit. Her eyes opened slightly but not fully as he turned and handed her the cup but closed just as fast when she held the cold cup.

Take a big gulp, she sighed with contentment and then rested her head on the pillow once again, and they sat in silence for another 5 minutes.

"I sound boring in your story." he said, turning her head ever so slightly and smiling.

"You're anything but." he answered quickly, which made Sherry smile even wider. After another few minutes, Sherry opened her eyes and regretted it immediately. Where ever she was, it was far too bright. She immediately shut her eyes tight and let out a small noise of annoyance. She then felt Jake's hand gently stroke her cheek and she smiled at the contact. Regathering her courage from before, she peeled her eyes open and found the light was still obnoxiously bright, but more bearable this time. As the world came into focus around her, she spotted Jake, sitting beside her and smirking, holding a baby in his arms.

Her eyes shot wide open and she gasped as she realized that that wasn't just a baby, it was theirs. "Is that.." she started, but Jake nodded and quickly spoke. "Little princess, this is your mommy." he said, slowly coming to a stand and gently putting their daughter on the small space on the bed between Sherry and the bed rail, all the while gently keeping a secure hold on their daughter.

Jake heard the heart monitor from behind him shoot up and when he looked down at Sherry, the tears were pouring from her eyes, and she whimpered as she wrapped her right arm around her daughter. "Princess.. we have a daughter.. ?" she whispered between sobs.

"Shes perfect." he whispered, planting a gentle kiss on Sherry's head and realized that this was the moment he had been waiting for. If only he could tell himself that things were going to turn out like this 5 months ago, he knew he wouldn't of ever hesitated about any of this.

"What is her name?" she whispered, stroking her daughters blonde hair and sniffling back her sobs.

"As if i was going to name her without you." he said chuckling. They stayed silent for a few minutes, Sherry simply enjoying being able to see their darling daughter and have her so close, and Jake, content to watch.

"Hope."

"What?" Jake asked, noticing how Sherry never lost her smile as she continued to gentle cuddle their daughter and giggle slightly when their daughter kicked her feet and stretched out her arms.

"I think Hope suits her. Hope Muller." she whispered and she gently scooped her daughter in her arms and held her lovingly in her arms. She cringed and nearly groaned with the pain as she felt pain flare up from her stomach, remembering she had had a C Section, but brushed it aside. She needed to hold her daughter and kiss her perfect head over and over, and no amount of pain was about to stop her.

"Its perfect." Jake said with a wide smile. "Hope. My little princess, Hope." he said, gently sitting on the edge of the bed, one arm wound around Sherry, and the other pulling Sherry's blanket up around the mother and daughter.

Sherry sighed contently as she smiled down at their beautiful daughter. "I can't even remember what the original name was."

Jake smirked. "You know, neither can i."

"So, Sir Knight Jake." Sherry lightly giggled. "Where did you get the idea for your story?"

"Sometimes, you just get a stroke of inspiration. Its a gift really." he joked, the pair knowing all too well where he had gotten his fairy tale, but neither said anything. They didn't need to. This moment they were all in, was their happily ever after, and they never wanted it to end.

* * *

**I'm back to school tomorrow. INTERNAL SCREAMING. Augh, for any Irish readers, i'm going into my Leaving Cert year, for anyone else, i'm going into my final year of Secondary/High school, Yikes! I predict i will be very busy this year and that may or may not affect my activity on this site! Just a heads up really, you know? just to have myself covered.**

**THE END.**

**No just kidding LOL. We have a couple chapters to go! plus i want to do a bonus chapter that's like way into the future. Then i'll be getting back to my other story, King and Lionheart. Plus! i have another story concept swimming around in my head, but its a bit of a crack pairing of mine, heeee COUGH Claire and Wesker COUGH.**

**Something like Claire getting a job as a receptionist for S.T.A.R.S or something? Pre RE1 so yeah! anyways, thats still very much so in the planning stages and wont even be started until King and Lionheart and hope is finished, so we need not worry about it at all yet.**

**Hey. Hey. Bet you were very shocked when they named their daughter Hope huh. Didn't see that coming, right? oh.. you did? nevermind then.. **


	19. Chapter 19

"Jake, i want to try!" Sherry groaned from her bed.

"Sher, you may be a Supergirl, but i'm definitely not letting you do this, not yet anyway." Jake replied with a smile as he began to change Hope's diaper, all the while smirking at Sherry's pout that she always did when she didn't get her own way.

It had been about 2 hours since she woke up, and to say the least: she was full of energy. In an attempt not to overwhelm her or the baby with visitors, there had been long gaps in between the visits they received.

Rebecca had come in after about 20 minutes of Sherry being awake, happily beaming about her being awake and congratulating her on her beautiful baby and her over all strength throughout the whole pregnancy and especially the labor. Sherry had nodded with a smile, gently cuddling her baby as Rebecca got Jake to sign the birth certificate and then her, making it all official.

As she took a blood sample of Hope, she was quick to compliment her name, saying it was quite fitting for the couple's child, to which they readily agreed. Afterwards, Rebecca quickly excused herself to get Hope's blood tests underway, as to get the proper blood type and to detect general information, warmly smiling, they waved her off.

Claire and Leon walked in about 10 minutes after with a bag of clothes for the three as well as 2 hot cups of coffee fresh from Starbucks. Sherry nearly squealed with delight as the wonderfully intoxicating smell hit her nose, and giggled as she took her first sip. Oh how she had missed both coffee and tea. She silently promised herself a hot bath and a cup of tea once she got home.

Jake handed Claire Hope so he could dash out to the men's toilets to change into a pair of jeans and a black shirt, though he always felt an odd pang of anger when he handed Hope to anyone other than Sherry. Leon had shortly gotten a call from Hunnigan soon after Jake walked out, and took a quick leave out into the hall to take the important call. Claire simply rolled her eyes and smiled. If it wasn't work related with Leon, it was the president, and if it wasn't the president, it was Hunnigan.

Claire had asked Sherry about a middle name, to which she replied "We were thinking either Annette or Miranda, though i'd prefer Miranda honestly." Sherry had felt a little bit disappointed in saying that, but she felt as if Miranda had earned it since she had given her whole life trying to support herself and Jake, while Annette was barely around. Claire nodded, and had said it was a lovely name. Soon after, the boys arrived back in and the group had settled into idle chatter as they passed around Hope, taking turns to marvel at how alert and how beautiful she was.

Leon had joked and said that every ounce of beauty was definitely all Sherry and none of Jake, hoping to get some sort of reaction out of Jake, but he simply nodded with a smile. Surprised by his acceptance, Leon simply nodded, happy to know that Jake was already changing for the better for his daughter.

Claire had groaned after about a half an hour, saying that Terrasave had needed her back to chair a briefing on some clean up somewhere in Latvia. Leon simply nodded and said that he'd better go too since Hunnigan apparently wanted him for another mission abroad and wanted to brief him on it. Saying there goodbyes, Claire and Leon had left with Leon's hand gently resting on Claire's back as they walked out, making Sherry and Jake smile.

They both deserved each other after so long, and Sherry was glad to see that Leon had finally gotten sick of waiting around for the infamous Ada Wong, and finally saw what had always been there. She could only hope that Leon would never break Claire's heart over her, because she always had a way of wriggling into Leon's heart, no matter what the circumstances. Claire had told Sherry once that that was her biggest fear in the relationship, and could only hope it was one of those things she'd never have to fear. Nervously, she had put her faith in Leon that he would treat her right, and hoped for everyone's sake that he wouldn't disappoint.

Then, after another maybe 10 minutes, Chris, Jill and Piers had walked in. They both congratulated the couple and gasped softly at the little girl that had been in Jake's arms when they arrived in. Jill took Sherry's hand and smiled softly, knowing all too well the pain she felt, having had a C-Section of her own. Piers had nervously petted her on the head, unsure of how to treat a baby, to which everyone laughed. They had brought over a small blue bag with a pink ribbon on top as a gift for the couple, which had turned out to be a blue and white checkered dress with white leggins and socks.

Sherry had gasped at the beauty and had demanded that she be dressed in it immediately, to which Jake readily complied. Both Chris and Jill were impressed at how easily and quickly Jake had gotten her dressed, probably used to it by now considering he had her all to himself for the past 2 days or so. The group aww'd as the little blue eyed princess wore a confused look in her new blue dress. Jill held her for a time and when she noticed Jake and Chris getting into a fight over some football game with Piers playfully joining in to defend his own and fathers favourite teams, Jill sighed happily.

"Wont be too long before i have this all over again." Jill had murmured, gently stroking Hope's cheek. Sherry looked at her curiously but before she could ask Jill, she leaned in closely. "I'm pregnant, but don't tell Chris, i'm surprising him tonight."

Sherry gasped. "Oh my god! Jill congratulations!" she whispered, attempting to not draw attention, and thank goodness as neither male turned to see them. Jill and Sherry simply turned to each other and giggled excitedly. "I only found out this morning, but i know that Chris will be ecstatic!"

They quickly finished their discussion when Piers had run over to Jill and asked her to pick him up; clearly jealous of the attention that she had been giving Hope. Sherry smiled, knowing that Piers would soon have to get used to the fact that he wasn't going to be an only child for much longer.

And now they were back in the present, with Jake not allowing Sherry to change their child's diaper, and her pouting. She knew she couldn't get out of bed to change her, the pain from her C-Section was fading, but it was still awfully painful. Rebecca had told her strictly not to move for 6 hours to give her G-Virus time to heal everything, and that if she did get out of bed in the mean time, the wound could tear and do worse damage to her.

Though she was sure that most wives would kill to have their husbands change their child's diapers all the time for them, all Sherry wanted to do was try it. Sherry had opted to breastfeed her daughter and she silently thanked herself for it, because Hope's feeding times were probably the only time Jake didn't put up a fight when Sherry asked to hold her. Honestly, she was sure that holding Hope would be one of the things her and Jake would be fighting for in the near future.

Sherry though, was very impressed by Jake. He could change diapers relatively easily, change her clothes just fine, held her perfectly while supporting her head, and even burped her when she was fed. She had honestly expected Jake to be questioning a nurse or her about everything he did with Hope, with the fear that if he didn't double check all his actions with her, that he'd do something bad. Though Jake was never one to ask for help.

"How are you feeling anyway?" Jake asked, pulling up their daughters leggins and craddling her in his arms, settling back into his seat next to Sherry. Sherry shrugged. "Alright, its just a dull pain now more or less."

"Its been nearly 3 hours, so in another 4 we can head home." Jake said, resting Hope on his knee as he gently bounced her. The couple both gasped loudly as they heard her giggle for a good 2 minutes from the bouncing, and swore that they'd never heard anything quite like it. They marveled at everything she did, and couldn't get over how wonderful she was.

Finishing up her giggling at her daughters performance, she nodded. "That sounds perfect."

"Though you're going straight to bed, you must be exhausted." Jake replied.

Sherry groaned at the mention of bed. "No way, when we get home i want a hot soapy bath and a hot cup of tea, everything hurts and i want a bath, it'd help."

Jake looked thoughtful for a moment but then finally shrugged. "Alright alright, but _then_ its bed time."

Sherry giggled and leaned over to kiss him on the cheek. "Okay, _dad._"

Jake smirked and pinched her cheek playfully, making her giggle.

* * *

The next few hours were much of the same thing. Feeding Hope, burping Hope, changing Hope's diaper, a nap that lasted 2 hours then repeat.

It was around hour 5 when Sherry was feeding Hope that Rebecca had come in, looking absolutely ecstatic. Sherry and Jake both shot her a quizzical look but she didn't elaborate until after a few seconds when she seemed to calm down.

"Jake, Sherry, your daughter is perfect."

Sherry and Jake looked at each other and laughed at her words. _What did she even mean by that? Of course she was perfect!_ "We know." Jake had responded after he finished laughing.

"No no!" Rebecca protested immediately. "Not as in shes a perfect little angel, but shes a perfect human being!"

Still not understanding her, Rebecca was met with blank expressions. Sighing with a smile, she continued on.

"Mixed with Jake's watered down Tyrant blood, making him abnormally strong, and Sherry's G-Virus, Hope is literally perfect. Her immune system is as strong as there's ever been in a child, and we can guarantee that she has the G-Virus in the system, and it will do for her what it does for Sherry. I'm pretty sure its safe to say that Hope will never contract anything like a cold or stomach bug, or.. anything else dangerous to her really by the likes of it."

Shocked by her news, the couple both looked to Hope who was still feeding and then back to Rebecca with amazement. Rebecca smiled triumphantly as her explanation seemed to get through to them.

"Right now our labs are testing her blood for cures to diseases, since we're pretty sure that the mix of both of your viruses will be able to make vaccines for all types of viruses!" She said, happily beaming at how proud they looked. "Your daughter could be the end of bio-terrorism as we know it!"

"The end of bio-terrorism.. " Sherry whispered, looking to her daughter with shock. "She's not even 1 and she's already fighting bio-terrorism." she said with a smile. Their beautiful daughters blood could be the key to stopping bio-terrorism and completely erasing a world threat. Their daughter would go down in history, as a savior.

"You guys just need to sign release forms saying its alright for us to use her blood in the manufacture of vaccines and other medicines. You will be getting royalties and Hope will of course get credit, so don't worry about that side of it."

The couple nodded and when Rebecca had presented the papers. They both signed, only happy to take this step towards a better and safer future for the world, and their daughter.

* * *

It was around 7 in the evening when Sherry was officially discharged, which was 3 hours after they had been told they could leave, but paperwork was always something that held them up.

Sherry had been wheelchaired out to the car, cringing every time she felt a bump under the wheelchair, sending a jolt of pain to her stomach where her stitches were.

Jake was thankful to see that Claire and Leon had installed the car seat for them, so Jake simply strapped Hope in (it took several minutes though since Jake had double and triple checked the seat belt to make sure it was secure) and then lifted Sherry into the passenger seat, brushing his lips against her cheek as a silent apology when she whimpered from the pain as she was set down and strapped in.

Jake took extra caution to drive him pretty slowly, avoiding as many bumps and pot-holes in the road as possible, but Sherry was still quietly sobbing as they turned into their street. She had said that it was a mix of her hormones and the pain and exhaustion of it all, and Jake sympathized.

"Don't worry Supergirl, as soon as we get home, i'm going to fill you a nice hot- What the hell?"

Jake's gaze was locked at the lane way that led up to their home, and how it had about 20 people outside of it. Judging by how nearly all of them had cameras and notepads, he guessed they were reporters. But why were they camped in front of their home?

"Did something happen with the neighbors?" Sherry asked quietly, wiping away her tears as she caught site of the large group. Though, as they approached the house, the group seemed to perk up and flock towards them.

Jake growled, and pushed the button to have their gates upon for the car. Instantly, the group had split down the middle, the reporters flocking to either side of the car in an attempt to catch either Sherry or Jake's attention.

"Sir! Sir! Is it true that your daughter holds the cure to cancer?" shouted one reporter.

"What?" Jake asked, confused by his very question. He slowed the speed of the car in the attempt not to hurt anyone just in case they got in front of their car and patiently awaited the 2 or 3 men in front of his lane to move so he could drive.

"Sir!" shouted a female reporter that was right by his window. "Are you worried that your daughter will turn out like Albert Wesker or William Birkin?"

The colour from Sherry and Jake's faces instantly drained at the mention of their fathers. Not only were both of their fathers identities a secret to everyone, but their relation to them was as well.

"Not in the fucking slightest!" Jake hissed at the woman, then drove up his lane is a flash, quickly closing the gates behind him. Not a single reporter dared to step in the gates, knowing all too well that they'd probably get arrested for trespassing. They all shouted questions as Jake unbuckled and picked up Hope who had fallen asleep in the car and lifted her out.

The reporters instantly lit up as they spied Hope and roared their questions twice as loud, taking about a 100 pictures each, making the flash absolutely blinding. Hope had jolted awake from their noise and instantly started crying, which made Jake absolutely livid.

Gently helping Sherry out of the car, the noise of the reporters didn't die down for a minute. When they got into the house via the backdoor, Jake settled Sherry on their couch in the sitting room, handing her Hope and shutting the blinds. Sherry rocked Hope but she was hysterical from the scare the reporters and the camera flashes had given her. That was Jake's breaking point.

"Jake don't!" Sherry called out after him as he angrily stomped out of the house and up to his locked gate.

The reporters quickly started roaring their questions at him again, flashing the camera wildly.

"You fucking idiots woke up my sleeping, barely 3 day old daughter, and now shes in their crying! I swear to god if any of you are still out here within the next 5 minutes i'm going to call the police and have you all fucking arrested."

As Jake spoke, he growled as he spied several reporters writing down his exact words. Like he cared.

"Sir! Wasn't it true that you were going to leave Sherry all together only a mere few months ago for good?" shouted one reporter.

Jake was silent for a few minutes as several reporters gasped and wrote down what the reporter had said. "No!" Jake shouted defensively, though he knew it was empty as there had been such a long pause before his answer. His worst mistake.

Jake was livid, avidly searching the sea of reporters for the man who had asked the question. Strangely enough, he had sounded fairly familiar, but Jake couldn't place him. He realized after a while that, as well as not being able to see the reporter, he couldn't hear anything either. His ears were ringing from the frantic screaming of the reporters and his eyes were blurry from all the flashing cameras in his face.

Scoffing at the sea of lifeless reporters, he waved them off and turned back inside. As he stood in front of their door he shouted "You all have 5 minutes to get the fuck away from my property!" and then walked into his home, wanting to slam it badly but at the same time, not wanting to wake up Hope who had gone silent and must be back to sleep at this stage.

"What the hell is all that out there?" Sherry asked, shocked by such a large group of reporters.

"I have _no_ idea. How the hell did they find out about Hope? we've only known ourselves for about 5-6 hours." Jake replied, tugging the blind to the side to peep out, his eyes greeted by the scene of about 10 reporters sitting on the path outside their home. Growling, he let the blind fall back into place and walked over to Sherry.

"You don't think Rebecca or George.. ?" Sherry began, but Jake quickly shook his head.

"No way, they wouldn't do that to us. Maybe some scientist at the lab they were testing her blood said something."

"Yeah.. yeah that's it." she replied, slowly nodding her head as she handed over Hope to Jake, who softly kissed her head and cuddled her gently.

"I'll put her to bed and fill your bath, i'll be back in a few minutes alright? just.. stay here." he whispered.

"But what about the circus outside?" Sherry asked, looking quite worried.

"There's nothing we can do for now Sherry, they're technically in a public street outside our property." he answered, not looking overly happy with his reply.

"So what do we do?"

"I'm going to put our daughter to bed, you're going to have a bath and then we'll call it a night."

Seeing no other alternatives or courses of action, and feeling as sore and tired and she had ever in her life, she simply nodded and sat quietly as Jake walked upstairs to tuck their daughter in.

All the while, Sherry glared at the window blind, knowing all too well that the vultures were no circling, waiting for the right time.

Little did the couple know, was that their was a certain agent outside, only waiting for the right opportunity to strike.


	20. Chapter 20

The next morning, Jake had woken up earlier than either Hope or Sherry to check on the situation outside.

He growled in frustration as he spied several reports sitting on the path in sleeping bags, all appearing to be still asleep. Jake had guessed as much since it was 6:00 AM and they had been trying to sneak their way up their property nearly all night when they thought the family had gone to bed. Jake had gotten barely any sleep the past 2 days and had badly needed to sleep longer than the off and on 8 hours he had gotten, but he was too afraid of what the reporters would attempt if he didn't keep a close eye.

Jake grumbled as he stared at the reporters, remembering what had happened the previous night.

Sherry had gone for her relaxing bath only to promptly jump out 10 minutes later upon spying a reporter in a tree in a neighbors yard, either taking pictures of her, or Hope, who was in the next room. She wasn't really sure as the minute she saw the flash, she jumped up and went for the nearest towel out of instinct.

Though she had acted a bit rash and it caused her a serious amount of pain, whimpering as she called Jake. When he towed her into the bedroom, away from prying eyes, he was relieved to see that there was no visible bleeding and the stitches seemed unbothered, though he would call Rebecca in the morning just in case there was internal damage, though he was sure G would fix that, hopefully.

As if Jake hadn't been mad enough, he stormed outside and ripped the smart ass who hadn't noticed him from the tree, nearly breaking his arm and smashing his expensive looking digital camera to pieces. He had threatened Jake by saying he would call the police, though Jake had promptly pulled out his National Security badge, which earned him a startled yelp and the reporters terrified scramble to get away.

After that, he walked inside and put Sherry to bed with a hot cup of tea and some book Claire had left for her. Once satisfied that Sherry was comfortable and happy, Jake went around to all the windows in the house and locked them, pulled blinds and closed curtains, leaving not a single window exposed.

And now Jake had to figure out his next move.

He was already nervous about how he had answered the suspicious reporters question the previous day, afraid it would end up in a local paper for Sherry to see. Jake swallowed a lump in his throat. What if they published that he had wanted to leave Sherry, and that she would be the last one to find out?

_No._ Jake couldn't do that to her, he'd just have to come out and tell her himself, no matter how hard it may be.

_Wait._

Suddenly, a thought struck him. _How the hell did that reporter know that that was even my plan? I only ever told.._

"Kennedy." Jake hissed, angrily shutting the curtain he had opened a crack to see the reporters as they seemed to be waking up now to torment Jake and his family._ Great._

* * *

Around 2 hours later, Sherry was still sound asleep. _Thank god._ Though Hope was wide awake, lying in the basenette in the kitchen as Jake cooked breakfast. She whimpered for Jake to pick her up, and while it pained him to hear her in discomfort, he told himself that another 2 minutes of turning the sausages on the pan would finish it and he could pick her up.

Jake had left Leon a quick text for him to get over to the house and was now simply waiting for him as he scooped Hope into his arms and emptied the contents of the frying pan onto his plate, mouth practically drooling as the fried egg and 3 sausages fell onto the plate. Settling hope into a carrier on the counter, he pulled a chair up and dug into his breakfast - gently stroking Hope's foot with one hand and eating with the other.

Though Jake's chewing slowed to a stop as he contemplated the newly realized theory that swam in his mind. Would Leon really sell Jake and Sherry out to a couple reporters for a quick buck?

Shaking his head, he quickly decided that it wasn't really his style: Leon loved Sherry like a daughter, definitely loved his god daughter and was one of the greatest friends Jake had ever had. And the money? Please. Leon probably got paid ridiculous amounts of cash to do the jobs he did, there was no way he'd do it for the money.

So then why was Jake calling him over? Well, for clarity he decided. He needed to look Leon directly in the eye and get his answer, only then would he know what the truth of the matter was. Though Jake knew the most likely answer, he just wanted to hear it from the man himself. He didn't want to be too rough on Leon but decided that he only ever really did respond to conflict. He'd just come off on the offensive and if Leon got too defensive, then he'd know that Leon was guilty, though doubted it heavily.

It wasn't long after he finished did he hear some commotion begin to kick up outside. Raising an eyebrow, he picked Hope up and made his way to the sitting room window. Pushing away the curtain away ever so slightly, it revealed a flustered looking Leon plagued with reporters.

"What do you mean '_the absent god father?!_' i left to go to work yesterday!" Leon shouted at one of the more ignorant reporters. "Wait, how the hell did you even know i left? who the hell are you?!"

Before the reporter got a chance to reply, the intercom at the gate buzzed, signaling that Leon could come right in, which is exactly what he did the minute the gate opened enough to let him in. The reporters shouted after him but he didn't look back. _Well, here it goes._

Jake set Hope into the kitchen basenette to avoid her crying from the scare of the flash of the cameras and quickly dashed to the front door, unlocking it, letting Jake inside, promptly shutting it and locking it again.

"What the hell was all that about?" Leon asked in a huff, referring to the ruckus outside.

"Did you talk to that fucking reporter out there?" Jake asked accusingly.

"What? which reporter?" Leon asked, almost looking offended with Jake's questioning.

Leon was met with silence and a cold stare.

"I answered ones question.. ? does that count?" he spoke up.

"One of the reporters out there said they knew about me wanting to leave Sherry, nobody knows that only you Leon!" Jake barked angrily.

Leon threw his arms up in defense. "Woah woah, hold on a minute! I didn't talk to _anyone!_ especially not about anything like that!" Leon was telling the truth. Leon had felt as if that whole situation with Jake's worries had just been a silly thought that popped out of his head and he wasn't really thinking, so he never mentioned it to anyone. Hell, Claire was the closest person he had right now and she didn't know a thing, didn't that count for anything?

"Then how'd that guy find out?" he asked, tone noticeably more calm. This made Leon feel slightly more at ease, but not by much.

"Who knows! maybe he was just bluffing an answer so he'd see you trip over yourself then make up some garbage and throw it out on the front page?" he asked, though still a little offended over how Jake even thought that Leon had cheated them.

Jake went to speak but nothing came out. That _did_ make sense. That made a lot of sense actually. Reporters were always trying to mess up people, right? How different were Sherry and Jake? They seemed to be the flavor of the month what with Hope. Of course that made sense!

After a long few moments, Jake nodded. "Yeah.. yeah, that's it obviously!" he answered, almost happy that he'd reached a conclusion, though quickly snapped from it when he realized that the problem of that being published in a paper was still a very real possibility.

Leon stood awkwardly as Jake mulled over a few thoughts, almost forgetting that Leon was even there, until Leon cleared his throat that is.

"Its a bit of a circus out there, do you need me to do anything? go get you guys some stuff?" Leon asked, attempting to lighten Jake's mood and cut the tension that still hung in the room.

"No, no we're fine for now, if we need anything i'll call." Jake stated, though realized that Leon was just trying to be helpful, as he always tried to be. "Thank you though." Jake finished with a soft smile.

Leon knew not to expect an apology from him, nor did he really want one, but the smile was a sort of silent apology, and Leon was happy to get it. The two nodded and Leon took his leave, stating he had left Claire's apartment without telling her why and didn't want to worry her in the case she woke up, though doubted it as it was still the early hours of the morning and Claire despised getting up early.

Jake turned his attention to Hope and noticed she was fussing a lot more than she had all morning.

Picking her up, she whimpered and broke out into tears almost instantly. Jake was at a complete loss, until he remembered that Hope hadn't been fed all morning. _Oops._

Walking up stairs, he slowly pushed their bedroom door open, only to see Sherry talking on the phone with Hunnigan.

"Yes, everything's fine! though my stomachs a bit sore, i should be back next month!" she happily beamed, though Jake was a little taken a back. _Next month?_ They had never discussed Sherry and her maternity leave, Jake had assumed Sherry would be taking it to spend time with their daughter, something that would have to be talked about obviously.

"Of course! I'll email you the files in about an hour, anyway i better go, I have to feed Hope." she was silent for a minute and then giggled lightly. "Mhm! bye!"

Jake sat at his side of the bed before pulling his feet up and lying next to Sherry who was still smiling down at her phone.

"You'd swear that you and Hunnigan were best friends, as opposed to an employer and employee." he mused, lightly nudging Sherry who just laughed.

"Just because i'm the model employee mister Muller! You could learn a thing or two from me." she said, taking Hope from Jake and leaning against him as she fed her. Sherry sighed contently as her head lay comfortably on Jake's chest, and she swore she could of fallen right back asleep, though Jake broke her from her sleepyness.

"Why aren't you taking your maternity leave?" Jake asked her, gently stroking her arm as he held her in place.

"Because i was gone for 5 months from work, and i asked for 6 months maternity leave." she said, almost sad that she had lost so much time she could of had with Hope.

"Wouldn't Hunnigan understand? I mean you're a mom now for christ sake!" Jake sounded especially angry at the last part of his sentences, hand clutching tightly on Sherry's arm for a split second before it relaxed again.

"I'm sure she would Jake, but i can't risk my job just because i want more time! Besides, we have a mortgage and a little girl to worry about now, i'll be fine with another month, after that.. we can get child care or something."

Jake groaned ever so slightly.

Sherry was about to speak up when Jake beat her to the punch.

"Fuck childcare, i'd rather stay at home with her."

Sherry stared at him for a minute, waiting for him to laugh and say _gotcha,_ but it never came.

"Wait, what?" Sherry asked in disbelief. _He couldn't be serious._

"I'll take off work for a while, and i'll stay ho-"

"Jake, you haven't done any assignments for the DSO in months! if you ask for time off they'll just fire you, you can't afford to lose that job Jake, not right now!" she argued, trying to convince Jake that taking time off for Hope was stupid and selfish, though she could tell by Jake's expression that that was the last thing he wanted to hear.

"Then i'll quit." he replied simply.

"What!" she nearly shouted, though quickly scolded herself when she felt Hope squirm ever so slightly.

"Sherry, i worked with the DSO for a year, i can easily get a job with any police station i want, its not like if i quit i'll be black listed from everywhere!" he argued, feeling like he was getting a little too defensive with Sherry. After all, he knew she was just worried that this was an act of impulse, but in truth, he had been thinking of quitting the DSO ever since his last mission.

When Chris had said that Jake would hate going on missions all those months ago, he couldn't of been more right. The thought of going on a mission at this point was incomprehensible to Jake. Not only did he no longer want to be apart from his family, but if something had gone wrong like it had in his last mission, and he was kidnapped and presumed dead, it would not only hurt both Sherry and Hope badly, but it would tear Jake apart. And of course, there was always the possibility that he could die.

"Look." he breathed, trying to convince Sherry that, despite what she was thinking, this was a smart move. "I know that the local police station is hiring, and it'd just make more sense if i quit the DSO and became a police officer or something. Yeah, it'd be a _lot_ more quiet than what the DSO was for me, but it'd be more stable, more _safe_, and it'd just make more sense in the long run. I honestly can't do anymore missions now that i know that if i ever do, i'll have my daughter and wife at home worrying about me, i can't, not after my last mission."

Sherry was taken aback. She had thought that Jake's reasoning would be _'I love my daughter too much to go to work anymore.'_ but after hearing his explanation, she realized that it really did make a lot more sense for him to go into a bit more of a stable job. Better off that he have a set hours job, unlike how the DSO was for them.

Sure, the DSO's wonky hour schedual's were easily maneuvered when it was just Jake and Sherry, but now they had a baby to think about, and had to plan their days around her. That also made Sherry think.

The DSO was always hectic hours for Sherry, ranging from getting home around 6 pm to 2 am, it was never really set. That couldn't and wouldn't fly now that she had a daughter to think about. She loved Hope, and wouldn't become what Annette had been - a workaholic shadow in her life. No, Sherry would rather quit her job and go bankrupt than become a mere shadow that would float in and out of Hope's life, leaving no real significance like Annette had, sad as it was to say.

Would Sherry really quit the DSO though?

_No. Not in a million years._ Her mind screamed. It had taken her a long 4 years to even be considered for the DSO's elite field agents, and she was not about to throw away all those long nights of studying, exercising, gun practice and all that running because her schedual was not set. She would simply sit down with Hunnigan and get set hours. She was a mother now, and owed it to Hope to get these things sorted.

"Jake.. if that's what you want, then i'll support you all the way, i know you'll do whats best for us and you." she said with a smile, looking down at Hope when she noticed her fuss. She gently placed her on her chest and lightly tapped at her back until she heard a small burp and smiled triumphantly.

"See Jake? i can burp her too!" she beamed. "Now all that's left is changing."

"And you can try that tomorrow when i feel like you're ready." he said, pulling her into a light hug, and kissing both her and Hope's foreheads.

She rolled her eyes playfully but stayed silent. She knew that changing diapers definitely wouldn't be fun so she decided that one more day of allowing Jake the full burden wouldn't be _so_ bad.

They lay there contently for a while, marveling at Hopes every action: Her coo's, her eyes, her hands and feet, her every kick and jerk, and she even yawned once that made Sherry 'aw' loudly.

Jake would of been happy to stay like that forever, but there was no use delaying the inevitable.

"Sherry." he gently called out as she rocked Hope back and forth, humming a soft tune.

"There's something we need to talk abo-"

Just then, the doorbell rang loudly across the home, jolting all three from their daze. Jake was instantly on his feet, and before Sherry could follow, Jake put up a hand in protest. "Relax Sherry, i'll get it."

She nodded and settled back into bed with Hope, watching Jake as he walked down the stairs and disappeared from sight.

Jake looked out of the peep hole but noticed nobody standing there. About to turn to go upstairs, he remembered that the gates were firmly shut, and realized the chiming had come from the gate's intercom. He growled as he walked over to the sitting room window, thinking it was one of the reporters trying to get his attention, but when he looked out, he spied a panicked looking Rebecca, waving to get Jake's attention.

In an instant, Jake had opened the gates for her and she quickly ran across the yard and inside to Jake.

"Woah woah Rebecca, whats going on?" he asked urgently.

"Jake, someone broke into the lab and stole all of Hope's blood samples before we could fully analyse them." she spoke calmly, though Jake heard the fear in her voice.

"And.. you need more?" he asked, confused as to why she sounded so afraid. Maybe she'd get in trouble with her boss?

"No, Jake! you're missing the point!"

"Spell it out for me then."

Rebecca sighed, composing herself. "Jake, from what we analysed, Hope's blood can create a vaccine to both the T and C virus, as well as a few forms of cancer and help to strengthen the immune system completely, but before we finished research on wether or not it could reverse the effects of Tyrants and other mutated humans, someone swiped all of our samples!"

"Go on?" Jake asked, a little confused as to how this was all bad. I mean, they had concluded that Hope's blood was a cure to many things, but its not as if the stolen blood samples couldn't be replaced.

"Usually, this wouldn't really worry me Jake.. but this was left in the lab.. " she said quietly, handing him a small piece of paper. His face drained of colour as he read.

_Congratulations on your beautiful little girl Jake, we will be by to collect her shortly._

_-The Puppet Master_

"Jake.. who's The Puppet Master?" Rebecca asked quietly.

"A dead man."


End file.
